BAME - The Educational & Careers Guide - Summer 2017- Issue 1

The Educational & Careers Guide SUMMER 2017

Social Media Tips for Job Seekers Pages 16 -19

Building your CV Pages 21

Michaela Coel CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO

Why Diversity Matters Pages 14 -15

BAME Education & Careers Guide is an initiative of the Black Solicitors Network

Contents AGRICULTURE

23 - 25

APPRENTICESHIPS

26 - 37

CREATIVE, LEISURE, ARTS & MEDIA

39 - 53

EMERGENCY SERVICES

54 - 55

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE

56 - 65

HOSPITALITY

66 - 67

HOUSING

68 - 71

INSURANCE

72 - 75

Sales Executives: Samira Johnson Neil Adams

LEGAL

76 - 89

TEACHING

90 - 97

Editor: Cordella Bart-Stewart

STEM

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Publisher and Managing Director: Sam Hussain For advertising enquires in future editions contact: Sam Hussain info@blsmedia.co.uk 0207 241 1589 BLS Media are contract publishers of high quality media for prestigious organisations, event organisers, governments and trade associations both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Our experienced publishing team will develop your publication from initial concept through to completion.

Our services include: creative design, PR, advertising sales, sales training, editorial and distribution.

Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this publication and the statements contained herein are believed to be correct, the publishers and the promoters will not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies.

Reproduction of any part of this publication without permission is strictly forbidden.

BLS Media make no recommendation in respect of any of the advertisers and no recommendation may be implied by way of the presence of their advertisements.

99 - 109

Foreword W

elcome to the debut issue of BAME the Education & Careers Guide. I would like to begin by thanking our sponsors and editorial contributors for their support and commitment. Our first edition brings into focus the merits of raising the aspiration of young people who are of BAME background looking at a wide range of career opportunities at an early age including further education and apprenticeships.

Sam Hussain, Managing Director, BLS Media

This edition aims chiefly at assisting in the development of the next generation of leaders from BAME background by providing them with the information and guidance they need to make important decisions related to pursuing higher education and building up their career path.

To that end, we bring you individual profiles in addition to interviews with professionals and industry experts from a wide variety of sectors and industries including agriculture, apprenticeships, creative, leisure, art and media, emergency services, health & social care, hospitality, housing, insurance, legal, teaching, and STEM. This will help you in outlining the skills required to build up a career in one of

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these industries and in gaining insights to the opportunities available in these sectors.

We recognise the revolutionary impact of social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook on the recruitment process.

Therefore the BME Education & Careers Guide will dedicate several pages that provide social media tips for Job seeker and introduce you to guidance on how to use social media to boost your Job search. Additionally, the guide will provide guidance on what to do when you get a job interview and why it’s important to make a CV portfolio website.

The BME Education & Careers Guide will provide access, training and mentoring to the outstanding members of underrepresented minorities. The guide will help to bridge the gap between the majority and the minority when seeking a career path in any industry. We believe that no matter what your race, ethnicity or cultural background, every person should have the same opportunities to prove themselves and reach the heights of their chosen career path.

Thank you for reading – we hope you enjoy the first edition of BAME the Education & Careers Guide.

Welcome Welcome to BAME: The Education & Careers Guide 2017

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he Black Solicitors Network (BSN) was set up over 20 years ago to help people of African and Caribbean ethnicity to enter the solicitor’s profession and progress to the highest levels. After a few years the organisation expanded to include people from the full range of the cultural and diversity spectrum as we wanted to see a profession that is inclusive and visibly represents everybody.

Cordella Bart-Stewart LLB, DUniv, FRSA, CCMI Co - Founder and Director Black Solicitors Network

The BSN receives no formal funding but receives support and sponsorship from bodies such as the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority that enables it to deliver a wide range of projects, initiatives and career-development events each year that has improved the prospects for BAME people in the law.

BSN is very much about empowerment and that means access to timely and relevant information and guidance.

We have seen that often the right information has not been given at the appropriate time leading to poor choices.

We think it is important that children get good advice at the time they are thinking about GCSE and A-level options and further or higher education.

The aim of this publication is to inform, inspire and raise the aspiration of young people who are primarily, but not exclusively, of BAME background looking at a wide range of career and development opportunities at an early age. This includes further study, apprenticeships and higher education.

We note that this will be a huge task but BSN has shown that from little acorns mighty oaks do grow. We hope that future editions will focus on an increased range of careers and more practical advice on competency based applications and interviews as well as an online presence for securing that coveted place or job. We are outward focused. The BAME community have an added resource as they can often access their ancestral homelands.

Globalisation is more than just a word and we will also look at international opportunities.

Our hope too is that this BAME - Education & Careers Guide will assist the development of the next generation of leaders from minority groups promoting diversity within the public and private sector and helping to break barriers.

We hope that you enjoy the guide and find it useful. We welcome feedback including suggestions for how this guide can be improved.

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About This Guide The aim of this guide is to provide young people from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) background with relevant information and guidance to gain the confidence they need to think of themselves as the leaders of tomorrow.

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he BAME Education and Career Guide is a publication answering and explaining the most frequently asked questions and concerns of young people researching their future chosen subjects/ colleges/universities. The Guide will cover topics such as applications, apprenticeships, social media tips for job seeker, job interview preparation, CV building, etc.

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The Black Solicitors’ Network The Black Solicitors’ Network (BSN) was formed in 1995 by 4 solicitors who had established their own successful firms and came together to discuss how to grow and promote the interests of black solicitors in England & Wales.

by Cordella Bart-Stewart

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nitially BSN sought to support each other by sharing information and ensuring that voices of Solicitors of African and Caribbean background were heard in issues affecting them and their practises in particular those related to the provision of legal aid. It challenged disproportionate practices and regulation and promoted equality of access, retention and promotion within the profession and in July 2003 BSN was recognised as a Law Society specialist interest group.

BSN continues to be a not-for-profit company. It receives no funding and aims to be the primary voice of black solicitors in England and Wales. However, over the years it has recognised the importance of inclusion and attracts, and welcomes, members from across the cultural and diversity spectrum. It is also supported by organisations such as the Law Society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Council and the Legal Services Board.

BSN initiatives and programmes include regular careers workshops, professional development seminars and workshops, and special interest groups such as BSN City Group. There are also regional groups in Manchester (BSN North) bsnnorth@ blacksolicitorsnetwork.org and Birmingham (BSN Midlands).

A significant programme is its Careers Workshops. BSN has developed and regularly hosts, in conjunction with leading firms and corporates interactive Career Workshops for undergraduate and graduate BSN members which provide insights into the recruitment process and tailored advice on applying for training contracts, with measurable success.

Details of each BSN Careers Workshop appears on the BSN website and various social media platforms.

BSN developed with the Law Society a training programme for aspiring judges from underrepresented groups and is also working with other stakeholders on similar cross profession initiatives.

BSN also advocates on behalf of BME solicitors and aspiring lawyers. This includes responding to consultations and seeking views through our focus groups. To participate in these initiatives please contact enquiries@blacksolicitorsnetwork.org.

In 2005 BSN launched the ground breaking

“BSN developed with the Law Society a training programme for aspiring judges from underrepresented groups and is also working with other stakeholders on similar cross profession initiatives.” and highly regarded annual Diversity League Table report. Looking at the largest firms and chambers in the UK, the Diversity League Table reporting covers; gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and disabilities, with social mobility introduced for the 2011 report. The results are presented as a series of organisational profiles and a series of leagues tables; ranking participating firms and chambers in key areas, as well as presenting an overall ranking, the Diversity League Table.

After 10 successful years of the DLT, BSN re-evaluated the publication as a diversity survey and in conjunction with The Law Society (DLT’s lead sponsor), commissioned a review and analysis of the datasets collected from firms over the 10-year period.

The publication launched in June 2017 reporting on the barriers and drivers of diversity across the core strands of gender, ethnicity and social mobility, with useful insights (and challenges) for those tasked with improving diversity in the sector.

In 2009 BSN launched The UK Diversity Legal Awards which are the only industry awards which focus solely on recognising and promoting diversity, inclusion, and equality across the legal profession.

Nominations and submissions are invited from firms, chambers, in-house legal teams (private and public sector), and suppliers to and individuals within the legal profession.

For supporters and winners of a UK Diversity Legal Award, this provides a platform from which to raise the profile of the excellent work being done and demonstrate a proactive commitment to this important area of the profession’s development. Submissions may cover one, some, or all aspects of diversity, including gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and social mobility. The entry deadline is 31 July 2017. Further information at www. diversitylegalawards.org or email enquiries@diversitylegalawards.org The BSN Jobs Board went live last year to support employers who require a focussed and targeted access to high-calibre candidates required to meet the diversity of their business needs. The BSN Jobs Board is for those looking for a new job or career opportunities. It is for employers who are committed to recruiting and providing opportunities based on fairness and equal access. admin@jobs.blacksolicitorsnetwork.org

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UK Diversity Legal Awards

Recognising and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion across the legal profession.

AWARD CATEGORIES OPEN FOR ENTRY: • Recruiting Diverse Talent

• Managing Diverse Talent

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he UK Diversity Legal Awards are the only industry awards which focus solely on recognising and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion across the legal profession. Now in its 8th year, the Awards showcase and celebrate the excellent work being done by individuals, teams and organisations to engender greater diversity and inclusion in the profession. Submissions are welcomed from firms, chambers, in-house legal teams (private and public sector), suppliers to the legal profession, as well as individuals within the legal profession. We invite submissions celebrating all aspects of diversity, including social mobility, gender, ethnicity, disabilities and sexual orientation.

The Awards entry window will close in a few short weeks, so if you want to see outstanding achievement recognised at the 2017 UK Diversity Legal Awards, make your voice heard and start nominating today! Visit www.diversitylegalawards.org to nominate yourself or another individual, team or organisation in any one or more of the following Award categories.

• Diversity and Inclusion Initiati ve of the Year: - Law Firm (large) - Law Firm (sole practitioner or SM E) - Chambers - In-house (Private Sector) - In-house (Public Sector) • Outstanding Multi-cultural/BAM

• Network

E Employee

• Diversity Champion

• BSN Rising Star

• BSN Lawyer of the Year

• BSN Lifetime Achievement Awa

rd

For more details on the entry crite ria for these Awards, our exciting sponso rship opportunities and the Awards cere mony and gala event, visit www.diversitylega lawards. org or email the Awards team at enq uiries@ diversitylegalawards.org.

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Houses of Parliament The House of Commons and the Parliamentary Digital Service are committed to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion.

These are crucial to delivering our core objective of supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy.

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e believe that diverse teams are more effective. They provide better solutions to meet a wide variety of differing customer needs.

They provide diversity of thought, which is particularly important among senior leaders, so that in decisionmaking they deliver better outcomes and organisations ultimately benefit from higher performance.

As the House of Commons is a public sector institution and the home of democracy in the UK, we should reflect the diverse society we

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serve. This helps us to facilitate more effective scrutiny and debate, to be able to inspire and involve the public, and to prepare parliament for the future.

We strive to ensure that our working environment and services to MPs, their staff and the public are inclusive. This means ensuring that our employees and the people in receipt of our services feel valued, respected and supported. Within a working environment, it’s more than just giving everyone equal opportunities, it’s about focusing on the needs of every individual to ensure that each person

with 50 organisations such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and TSB, in order to develop a toolkit to support the recruitment, development and leadership qualities of BAME people. We will continue to develop programmes that level the playing field by giving under-represented groups confidence – in us and in themselves – to progress and develop.

Our D&I action plan underpins this work by creating an inclusive environment for all who work here and this is further supported by our parliamentary Workplace Equality Networks.

The networks provide an opportunity for groups of people to discuss and consider issues relevant to their situation and/or protected characteristic. There are networks in support of LGBT issues, gender, race, disability, and a newly launched network focusing on socio-economic background. Each network has executive-level champions from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, to promote the aims and activities.

can achieve their full potential. Everyone is “different” and the House wants to embrace this for the organisation’s success, creating a workplace where people can connect and collaborate, and to encourage different types of leaders.

We believe it starts with recruitment. It is paramount that once someone is part of our workforce, they feel motivated and able to contribute. They must be confident that their talents will be fully utilised, and that they will be respected and valued regardless of their different way of thinking or their background.

One of the key priorities in our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (2015-2018) is to improve BAME representation at senior levels, and create talent pipelines. This work is being led by the Speaker of the House, the Right Honourable John Bercow MP, and our executive board. In order to achieve transformational change, you need commitment, action and drive from the organisation’s most senior leaders. Mr Speaker has launched his BAME Challenge, working

Within a working environment, it’s more than just giving everyone equal opportunities, it’s about focusing on the needs of every individual to ensure that each person can achieve their full potential.

ParliREACH is the workplace equality network established to increase awareness and appreciation of race, ethnicity and cultural heritage issues in Parliament. It provides a platform where under-represented groups can find support and where equality objectives can be progressed by working with the Diversity and Inclusion teams in Parliament. ParliREACH welcomes anyone who feels that the group will allow them to gain support or voice concerns, regardless of whether they share a protected characteristic They host a variety of events including socials and awareness-raising events in order to bring people together, inspire and educate. Their flagship initiative, reverse mentoring, has been successful in allowing staff from BAME backgrounds to share their experience of being an ethnic minority by mentoring senior leaders.

This has helped to inform policy and leadership decisions in an effective and mutually beneficial way.

There are thousands of jobs within Parliament which span over 10 buildings including the historic Palace Westminster, on a World Heritage Site. There’s a diverse range of jobs and work opportunities available, such as our NVQ apprenticeship scheme, the Speaker’s Parliamentary Placement Scheme which offers paid internships with MPs, undergraduate sandwich student placements, and a graduate fast stream route. If you would like to find out more about careers in the House of Commons, you can find more information here: www.parliament.uk/about/working/

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Why Diversity Matters There is a vast amount of research that provides solid evidence of the business case for diversity and inclusion.

by Cordella Bart-Stewart

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esearch proves that diversity and inclusion improves financial performance, leverages talent, reflects the marketplace and builds reputation. It also increases innovation and group performance.

A study found that a racially diverse workforce was positively associated with more customers, increased sales revenue, greater relative profits, and greater market share. Again, using a sample of Fortune 500 corporate boards, researchers found that innovation was positively and significantly correlated with board racial diversity.

A study of 146 Swiss firms across 32 industries found that nationally, diversity of top management teams is significantly and positively associated with firm performance.

Teams of managers that include people who have spent their formative years in different countries from each other have been found to be better at solving complex tasks and outperform homogenous groups in offering alternatives and perspectives.

This ultimately improves strategic decisionmaking and influences firm performance.

Researchers found the effect was stronger in longer tenured teams and in highly internationalized firms.

An issue that comes up time and again is the rate of attrition of women and BME from the legal profession.

Researchers found that decreased turnover intentions were associated with employees’ positive perceptions of an organization’s “diversity climate.”

The study also found that all employees, including white men, may benefit from a positive diversity climate, and it found indirect links between positive perceptions of the climate and predictions of calculative attachment and satisfaction.

Researchers found that a pro-diversity work climate was correlated with lower turnover intentions among diverse employees, especially among black employees. It was an American study and the researchers were surprised to find that this correlation

A study of 146 Swiss firms across 32 industries found that nationally, diversity of top management teams is significantly and positively associated with firm performance. was stronger for white men and women than it was for Hispanic employees.

Interestingly in 2004 researchers from Michigan Business School and Loyola University, Chicago, found that groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers. They found a trade-off between diversity and ability. Whilst an ideal group would contain high-ability problem solvers who are diverse, but as the group size becomes larger, the group of the best problem solvers becomes more diverse and the group performs relatively better in a problemsolving context. A person’s value depends on her ability to improve the collective decision.

Clients are asking firms to provide evidence of their diversity, policies, and initiatives. Mirroring the community can lead to a boost in productivity, customer satisfaction, and earnings.

Employee engagement depends on managers. Effective managers are committed to diversity but they need the organisation behind them. If diversity is not at the core of a firm’s ethos, no strategy will work and if anything will be detrimental to the firm.

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Social Media Tips for Job Seekers Establishing your online presence is increasingly becoming a difference-maker across many industries. Investing time in social media can help with everything from expanding your network to seeking out new job opportunities.

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TOP FACEBOOK TIPS:

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acebook and LinkedIn are two of the best platforms when it comes to online networking.

However, it is important to acknowledge how easily your profile can be seen by others. Below is a list of the top tips on how best to utilise these tools.

TOP LINKEDIN TIPS: Highlight experience. In most cases LinkedIn is the most effective social media tool to showcase your credentials in the business world. Only showcase information you are happy for your current and future employers to see.

Tailor content. When creating your profile, don’t just copy and paste your CV on to the website. Think about the language you are using and how it can entice employers to find out more about you.

Keep information up-to-date. Your profile online may be viewed as a reflection of your professionalism so make sure the information is current. Also check that there are no gaps in your work history (or provide an explanation if there is).

Creating connections. Connecting with industry professionals will help to show your experience and passion. Where possible, gather recommendations for your work because it will help employers to understand your achievements from previous roles.

Join relevant groups. This will allow you to expand your networks and follow relevant and interesting discussions.

Keep your private life private. Adding industry contacts is important if you are using Facebook as a professional networking tool but bear in mind that many people see it as a platform for keeping in contact with friends and family. If you consider Facebook to be there for your social life, not your career, make sure professional contacts cannot access it.

Be selective of the companies you ‘like’. You want to be perceived as passionate about the company you are applying for, not that you are willing to work for any company. Make sure there is an element of similarity in the companies that you ’like’ otherwise it may appear as though you have a scattergun approach to finding a job.

Join groups that reflect your interests. It shows that you are passionate about your role and profession.

Say something sensible. The beauty of social media is that you can get involved in debates and discussions about things that matter to you and the industry you work in. Get involved, but make sure you have something relevant and reasoned to say. It’s a good way to get noticed and develop strong contacts.

Use it to learn about potential companies. Being part of a Facebook group can help with background research before an interview. You can look at the latest business developments and see what others are saying about the business.

Smile for the camera. Depending on your profession and what industry you work in, it is now almost inevitable that a potential employer will check your online profile. Make sure that your picture is appropriate for employers to see.

Some of the above points may seem obvious but so often job seekers make mistake and jeopardize their career prospects. Make sure you’re not one of them!

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3 Ways Social Media Can Really Boost Your Job Search ONLINE NETWORKING Online networking allows you to coordinate with professionals all around the world. For instance, you may “like” business pages on Facebook and view posts about employment opportunities.

Make sure you keep your Facebook profile refreshed with your qualifications and work experience. This way it allows potential bosses learn more about you. Additionally, LinkedIn gives you a chance to associate with others. Try to join many meetings as you can that way you will have a higher chance of getting employed.

There is more, you also can follow your favourite organisations on twitter to stay refreshed with employment opportunities and participate in group chats.

POST YOUR CV Post your CV online where employers can see what experience you have and what kind of employment you’re chasing. For instance, you may post your CV on your Pinterest sheets and improve your resume with infographics, visual introductions, screenshots and fine art.

You may post your CV on LinkedIn and transfer an archive or visual media, and connect to your associations. Share a short clipped video introducing yourself, briefly talk about your work experience, skills and what your strength’s are. Make sure you include it in your CV. SEARCH FOR JOBS There are many ways to search for a job. The most common way is to do it online. According to ‘Prospect.ac.uk’ about 90% of employers now look at a candidate’s social media accounts as part of the hiring process. Here some examples of online website you could search for vacancies: • Indeed • Reed • Gumtree • Monster

• Jobs.theguardians • Facebook • LinkedIn

However, there are other ways of job hunting by signing up for job alerts, going to careers fairs and workshops. Twitter is a another great way to vacancies for example search hashtags, #jobpostings, #employment or #careers to tell bosses you’re searching for new open doors.

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Learning LinkedIn is a social network for professionals.

Social network is great for everyone from students to big companies. Anyone looking to explore future opportunities, careers or find employees.

It is like an old fashioned way of meeting other professionals in person but online.

Here are some of the basic features that this business network offers and how they’ve been designed to be used by professionals.

SlideShare platform for slideshow publishing and LinkedIn’s Lynda platform for educational purposes.

Home: Once you’ve logged in to LinkedIn, the home feed is your news feed, showing recent posts from your connections with other professionals and company pages you’re following.

Search bar: LinkedIn has a powerful search feature that allows you to filter your results down according to several different customizable fields. Click “Advanced” beside the search bar to find specific professionals, companies, jobs and more.

Profile: Your profile shows your name, your photo, your location, your occupation and more right at the top. Below that, you have the ability to customize various different sections like a short summary, work experience, education and other sections similarly to how you might create a traditional resume or CV.

Messages: When you want to start a conversation with another professional, you can do so by sending them a private message through LinkedIn. You can also add attachments, include photos and more.

My Network: Here you’ll find a list of all the professionals you’re currently connected with on LinkedIn. If you hover your mouse over this option in the top menu, you’ll also be able to see a number of other options that will allow you to add contacts, find people you may know and find alumni.

Jobs: All sorts of jobs listings are posted on LinkedIn everyday by employers, and LinkedIn will recommend specific jobs to you based on your current information, including your location and optional job preferences that you can fill out to get better-tailored job listings.

Interests: In addition to your connections with professionals, you can follow certain interests on LinkedIn as well. These include company pages, groups according to location or interest, LinkedIn’s

Notifications: Like other social networks, LinkedIn has a notification feature that lets you know when you’ve been endorsed by someone, invited to join something or welcomed to check out a post you might be interested in.

Pending Invitations: When other people invite you to connect with them on LinkedIn, you’ll receive an invitation that you’ll have to approve.

These are the main features you’ll first notice when you get on LinkedIn, but you can dive deeper into some of the more specialised details and options by exploring the platform yourself. At this level it is all free but you may eventually be interested in using LinkedIn’s Business Services, which allow users to post jobs, take advantage of talent solutions, advertise on the platform and expand your sales strategy to include social sales on LinkedIn. These are at a fee.

Source : www.lifewire.com

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Planning for Your Interview Congrats! You’ve had that email or telephone call requesting that you go to a meeting or attend an interview – Now make sure you are READY and PREPARED! DRESS CODE. Regardless of what sort of job you’re going for, it’s really important to look brilliant the first occasion when you’re meeting your potential employer.

Clothes - Buy smart cloths you can use again.

Make sure you always have a clean pressed shirt, tie, trousers/skirt, and dress and suit jacket. It’s anything but difficult to dress well, even if you don’t have much money. There are also charities that will provide good clothes for interviews.

Shoes - Positively NO TRAINERS! Ensure your shoes are clean.

RESEARCH THE COMPANY Before you go to the meeting, invest a little energy in Google. Have a quick search for any current news articles about the organisation. Have they had any extraordinary accomplishments in the last year or two? Is there a fascinating customer they have worked with, campaign or project important to them? What is their statement of purpose and what do they really offer as an organisation?

WHAT THEY EXPECT OF YOU Read the job description more than once It’s essential to understand what the organisation is expecting of you. Practice your responses to any inquiries that may come up identifying with it. Practice with a friend.

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ON THE DAY Bring a copy of your CV and covering letter even if the employer does not look at it straightaway, you will look sorted out and proficient.

BE EARLY Make sure you are 10-15 minutes early.

TELEPHONE OFF! Make sure your phone is switched off throughout the interview.

Non-verbal communication. BE NICE! Smile. Be conscious. You need everybody you associate with to have a positive memory of you.

SHAKE HANDS Shake hands with your interviewer when you meet them. A firm handshake demonstrates that you are more professional.

EYE TO EYE CONNECTION Try to keep up eye to eye contact and sit up straight. Do whatever it takes not to touch your hair or face excessively.

CONTINUOUSLY ANSWER Try your best to answer the questions they ask with an experience example.

“WHY SHOULD I GIVE YOU THIS JOB?” Try not to freeze. You should have practised this over and over before the interview. Keep in mind the expected set of responsibilities and run through your examples that show you meet or exceed them. Leave the interviewer convinced you are the right person for their organisation.

Building your CV portfolio website

A written CV is imperative however outwardly dull. It is hard to emerge from the group.

Offer yourself through email and the web with a cutting edge online presence - your own CV site.

Businesses need to know what you’re about in the speediest and most straightforward way. Anything that spares them time, such as an online CV, gives you points. But remember - bringing a paper duplicate CV and covering letter to a meeting is still critical. If you don’t have a CV yet try the National Careers Service’s CV building apparatus. Here is the link: www.nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk When you have your CV, you can begin on your CV site. There are a lot of basic web building stages on the web, all free and easy to use. Building your own particular site has never been simpler, so split on and get yourself took note!

HOW TO MAKE A CV PORTFOLIO

BEST FREE SITES FOR NEWBIES

STEP 1 Choose a name STEP 2 Check name availability STEP 3 Register your domain name STEP 4 Join Weebly, Wix or WordPress for free.

STEP 5 Choose a layout.

STEP 6 Begin arranging and uploading content.

STEP 7 Publish your site

Wix.com – a basic, simple to explore stage empowering you to assemble your site quickly. It’s speedy to join to and simple to assemble a one of a kind, customized portfolio, giving alternatives to both Flash and HTML.

It’s really that simple It’s truly that straightforward

Weebly.com – like Wix in outline, Weebly is similarly as fun, free and adaptable in what it offers.

Pick a plan, and just drag and drop components onto each page you make. Include content, pictures, media, and connections.

WordPress.com – a straightforward online blog web page with the capacity to have numerous pages, in this way giving your full flexibility in your plan. On WordPress, you can without much of a stretch add pages and different treats to your blog in seconds.

All sites enable you to install media from pictures, joins, contact frames.

Flickr displays, documents, YouTube recordings and Google maps etc, and that’s just a start! Different destinations out there are likewise FREE and worth a look.

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Tips to Stand Out Give yourself the winning edge when seeking employment.

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AME Recruitment are working with a number of leading organisations within the Private and Public sector on ways to better attract and retain staff from BAME, LGBT, Female Leaders, Disability and other diverse backgrounds. CEO and Founder Cynthia V Davis strives to create a positive impact from diversity and inclusion initiatives and has personally written articles for the Voice Newspaper and LGBT History Month on the topic.

Cynthia is a mentor to young adults and 11-18 years, she is also a public speaker committed to improving equal opportunities for people from all walks of life by encouraging and motivating the next generation of leaders.

She is determined to not allow perceived obstacles to stand in their way.

Here are her top tips for young adults looking to go into their first career:

Be Consistent, if you say you’ll do something then do it within the agreed timescales.

Research the Company, the person you are meeting and understand the role you are applying for.

Social Media. Make sure your LinkedIn and other social media profiles portray you in the professional light you would like to be seen.

Network, network, network – you can find out about opportunities and meet people to help you on your journey.

Be Authentic and Honest. If asked about your weaknesses, turn it into a positive.

Be grateful for any help you receive and make sure you say thank you.

Follow up with the interview via LinkedIn to thank them for their time. It’s not being too keen, everybody likes being appreciated.

Don’t Quit. Be resilient when facing rejection and don’t give up. Don’t go over the top and be aware of how you come across.

Be Prepared – know your strengths and weakness and what separates you from other candidates, make sure they remember you for the right reasons.

Ask your interviewer questions and show interest in the company and suggest where you could add value .

Agriculture The world of agriculture has much more to offer than driving a tractor around a field, feeding ducks and chewing on a sprig of grass and is vital to the UK economy.

This industry is open to people from all kinds of academic backgrounds.

For a career as an agricultural scientist, engineer or consultant you will need a relevant degree from a university or agricultural college. However, there are also entry-level farming positions through apprenticeships or vocational qualifications and you can even start as a farm worker straight out of

school without any further academic qualifications.

The agricultural industry employs 3.5 million people in the UK and produces 63% of the food consumption in the country. It offers competitive salaries and great opportunities to progress in diverse working environments in the great outdoors.

Grow a Career in Agriculture Reap the Benefits of a Career in Agriculture

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e all know that choosing a career isn’t easy. There are many paths to take and many considerations. Which subject area should I choose? Which industries are growing and which are struggling? What size company would I like to work for? What’s available in my local area?

An area you may not have previously considered is agriculture. Agriculture is broadly split into two sections: Livestock, comprising cows, sheep, lamb, pigs and poultry and crops, which covers cereals, vegetables and fruit production. Agriculture is one of the most diverse industries in the UK. Additionally, it’s becoming more and more technologically advanced, so is ideal if you are interested in science and technology. What’s more, whilst companies

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in other industries are struggling and often turning away job seekers, agriculture will require around 52,000 new entrants over the next decade, so there will be plenty of opportunities at all levels.

or with a range of different people (such as suppliers, wholesalers, vets, sales people and property owners and managers).

The industry needs people with the ability and aptitude to develop higher level skills in areas such as management, communication, IT, science and technology. The agricultural sector needs a good supply of skilled workers to enable them to remain competitive, deliver economic growth, high standards of animal health and welfare and contribute to sustainable development and a green, low carbon economy.

British farmers and growers provide the building blocks for the UK’s food and drink industry which adds around £23 billion to the economy. Attracting dynamic young people into the industry is critical to a thriving agricultural and land-based sector in the future.

So what’s in it for you? You’ll not only get to use your existing skills but you’ll also develop new ones. You’ll be able to work outside independently using your own initiative,

Did you know?

Agriculture isn’t just about working in a muddy field or sheep shearing anymore.

The industry employs a diverse range of people, from research scientists to sales and marketing experts to estate managers.

Modern farming is a skilled operation which requires technical know-how, business

acumen and environmental awareness.

But don’t just take Lantra’s word for it! There are plenty of people working in a range of jobs in the industry who’ll tell you what makes it so great: • “I’m really proud to say that I work in agriculture. It’s an encouraging feeling knowing that I’m producing food which people consume every day, as well as maintaining the landscape that we all know and love.” Helen Reeve – Dairy Farmer • “The feeling of delivering a live calf and seeing that mother and calf are well because of me is phenomenal. It’s always been my ultimate aim to stay in agriculture. I respect the commitment and dedication required to work in the sector, especially working with dairy cows.” Maureen Hedley - Assistant Herdswoman • “I wasn’t born into farming but I’ve always had an interest in farm machinery, something which developed into an interest in working with livestock. I like being outdoors, whatever the weather. It’s great getting the lambs strong and ready to go out. It’s really satisfying knowing I’ve helped them.” Finlay Ross – Farm Worker

The nature of Lantra’s training courses and qualifications enables you to gain real skills and have the opportunity to develop those skills. Your knowledge, and in turn your career, has the potential to really grow across many areas of the sector. Lantra has a wealth of programmes to help you to achieve your career goals.

In 1999, Lantra became an awarding organisation and over the years, we have increased our portfolio, with training courses and qualifications in the following areas: Forestry and Arboriculture

Horticulture and Ground Care

Forklift Trucks

Weed Management

Pest Control and Pesticides

All Terrain Vehicle Driving

Tractors

Chainsaws

First Aid

Leadership and Management

Health and Safety

Highways/Traffic Management

Agriculture

Animal Welfare

Facilities Management

Training courses and qualifications are delivered throughout the UK and ROI by an extensive network of approved and quality assured providers and instructors. As a learner, you can search for providers and the courses they offer – both locally and nationally - with our easy to use straightforward course search (www.lantra.co.uk/coursesearch).

The opportunity for progression through a number of levels of training and qualification is a reality with Lantra.

Visit www.lantra.co.uk, email sales@lantra.co.uk or call 02476 696 996 to find out more!

ADVERTISE HERE GET SEEN BY 1,000’S OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS !

CALL 020 7241 1589

Apprenticeships Apprenticeships are currently on the rise and now that the government’s Apprenticeship Levy is in place with the aim of employers funding up to 3 million places by 2020, many employers and higher education institutions are getting on board.

Apprenticeships are no longer limited to industry but also professions such as Law and Accounting.

Apprenticeship offers you the opportunity to earn while you learn, gain practical and relevant work experience, and automatically boost your career prospects. Moreover, recent statistics show that 90% of apprentices stay in employment, 70% staying with the same employer. 25% of apprentices receive a promotion within 12 months.

So, an apprenticeship could be the right choice for you.

Mercedes-Benz is looking for the 'Stars of Tomorrow'.

Join our award-winning Apprenticeship Programme today.

• Train as a Parts Operations Specialist, Light Vehicle Technician or Heavy Vehicle Technician • Join from the age of 16 and earn while you learn • Work for one of the world’s most prestigious companies To find out more or apply today, visit our website: www.mercedes-benztraining.co.uk/apprenticeships or email us at mb.apprentice.academy@daimler.com

Apprenticeships or University Both can take you to your dream career and should be seen as a personal choice.

It really depends on you. You might want to earn while you learn in which case it could be studying part-time or an apprenticeship. However, if you want to study a subject in-depth then that more likely means a University degree.

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A

good starting point is looking at where you want to get to then decide based on the end goal, your life style and finances by exploring the options available to you. You might end up with the same qualification whichever route you chose.

There is no one size fits all model. In some industries or professions an apprenticeship scheme may not be available or will not offer the same prospects as a degree. In others, you may find that having gained your experience as an apprentice this gives you the edge over graduates including income. Undergoing an apprenticeship does not mean you are not academic however it might be that going to a particular university is important to you and it cannot be denied a degree from a highly regarded university can make a big difference.

However, more and more universities are offering apprenticeship degrees which might be the best of both worlds. Do what you feel most comfortable with and remember you can always change your mind.

PATH TO UNIVERSITY

Most young people go straight to University from school applying through UCAS or clearing however there are other routes other than A ‘levels.

Key Skills Qualifications (Levels 1-4) Key Skills Qualifications is a set of skills commonly required in a range of activities in education, training, work and can make you desirable to employers. They are aimed at ae 14-20 and can be examined as a component of full-time, or part time course at secondary school, or college, during day or evening before moving onto an HND or degree.

certificate. They cover an extensive variety of businesses and are intended to furnish you with the information and abilities businesses require. They can lead direct to a degree.

National Vocational Qualifications and (NVQs) (Levels 1-5) An NVQ is a work-based qualification which enables students to study and build up the skills that be required for a job. You can do an NVQ while you are in full-time or parttime work. There are no age cut-off points or entry requirements.

BTEC capabilities and OCR Nationals (Levels 1-7) BTEC capabilities and OCR Nationals are business related capabilities and can come as a major aspect of a technical

Higher National Certificates and Higher National Diplomas Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) are work-related, or vocational higher education qualifications. The Level 5 qualifications Makes you focus on learning, and give you tailored skills that you can use in a particular job. Those are the skills that employers will look out for.

What about work experience?

If you’re planning to take a 1 year placement with degree course, you will find that the relevant work experience you have is taken into account alongside any qualification you achieved.

Access to the Higher Education Diploma Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma is a qualification, which prepare students to study at degree level. There thousands of courses available in many different industries.

NQF LEVEL – EXAMPLES OF QUALIFICATIONS AND WHAT THEY GIVE YOU. Level: Entry What qualifications you can achieve: Entry level certificate Entry level skills for life Entry level award, certificate and diploma.

Entry level functional Skills.

Entry level Foundation Learning Level: 1 What qualifications you can achieve: GCSE (grades D-G) Key skills level 1 NVQ level 1 Skills for life level 1 Foundation diploma BTEC award, certificate and diploma level 1 Foundation learning level 1 Cambridge National level 1 Level: 2 What qualifications you can achieve: GCSE (grades A*-C) Key Skills level 2 NVQ level 2 Skills for life level 2 Higher diploma BTEC award, certificate and diploma level 2 Foundation learning level 2 Cambridge National level 2 Cambridge Technical level 2

Level: 3 What qualifications you can achieve: AS and A level Advanced Extension Award Cambridge International award International Baccalaureate Key Skills level 3 NVQ level 3 Advanced diploma Progression diploma BTEC award, certificate and diploma level 3 BTEC National Cambridge Technical level 3 Level: 4 What qualifications you can achieve: Certificate of higher education Key skills level 4 NVQ level 4 BTEC Professional award, certificate and diploma level 4 Level: 5 What qualifications you can achieve: HND NVQ level 4 Higher diploma BTEC Professional award, certificate and diploma level 5 HNC

or HND Diploma of higher education Diploma of further education Foundation degree Level: 6 What qualifications you can achieve: NVQ level 4 BTEC Professional award, certificate and diploma level 6 Or Bachelor’s degree Graduate certificate Graduate diploma Level: 7 What qualifications you can achieve: BTEC Advanced Professional award, certificate and diploma level 7 Fellowship and fellowship diploma Postgraduate diploma NVQ level 5 BTEC Advanced Professional award, certificate and diploma level 7 Or Master’s degree Postgraduate certificate Postgraduate diploma

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HOW TO APPLY FOR AN APPRENTICESHIPS Intermediate Apprenticeship - is equivalent to GSCE educational Level.

Intermediate Apprenticeship is equal to 5 GCSEs – A*-C or NVQ Level 2 or BTEC, this will allow you to access Advanced Apprenticeship.

The Advanced Apprenticeship - is equivalent to Level 3, which is also known as A Level. This for students who have achieved 5 or above could apply to Advanced Apprenticeship. Once you have completed this Apprenticeship you will have the right qualification to go to university.

A Higher Apprenticeship is a great qualification if you are considering university. Higher Apprenticeship are designed for those aiming to get a degree or masters. Visit www. nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk for more information.

Remember you can now also take a degree apprenticeship applying direct to some universities or professional bodies.

HOW TO APPLY Apprenticeship vacancies appear throughout the year. Each vacancy will state a deadline for applications and start dates. Don’t wait until the deadline to make an application – some companies close their recruitment as soon as they have a sufficient number of suitable candidates.

ONLINE - Here are some website links to apply/find an apprenticeship in England/Wales or Scotland.

England: www.findapprenticeship. service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch Wales: www.careerswales.com/ Scotland: www.apprenticeships.scot/

WHEN TO APPLY Generally, vacancies with larger firms start appearing from September, but most start to be advertised from January or February onwards. Smaller businesses might start recruiting a month or two before the job starts, so if you hope to start work in August or September, you might start looking from March/April onwards.

• Check start dates closely, to make sure you will have finished school or college by the time the apprenticeship starts.

• Start your research early — the sooner the better, so you have time to fill any gaps in your CV with the things employers are typically looking for, including getting some relevant work experience.

If you’re interested in working for a particular employer, take a look at their website – most employers have a page on careers, apprenticeships, or vacancies. If you are interested in a particular apprenticeship role, you can filter your search for these on the vacancy listing.

Each vacancy will state how you need to apply. This may be through the apprenticeship listing you are using, or directly to the employer.

Either way, you’ll be directed to the appropriate application process from the vacancy details page.

Prospect.ac.uk. This is a great website to apply for an apprenticeship, which will help you with: • How to do your research • How to write a good CV • Guide you on gaining professional skills CONTACT AN EMPLOYER DIRECTLY If you know what sector you want to do work in then why not search for a position directly with the employers?

Remember, some companies will only hire at certain times of year, so it’s worth emailing them to ask when positions will become available.

SPEAK TO YOUR COLLEGE OR SCHOOL ADVISOR Your school or college career advisor is there to offer help and give you advice.

Be part of our future.

At the North East Ambulance Service everyone has one thing in common – their desire to provide safe, effective and responsive care for all patients.

This requires people from a variety of cultures and backgrounds with a range of skills, who can bring different perspectives to our work as Paramedics, Emergency Call Handlers, Ambulance Care Assistants and office support employees.

Our employees have the freedom to be themselves at work in an environment that challenges convention, is supportive and has inclusivity at its core.

Join us and you will have a chance to be part of a fast moving emergency service that has patients at the heart of everything we do and provides a range of services and functions to support people with a variety of health needs.

You can find out more about our opportunities at: www.neas.nhs.uk/careers/vacancies.aspx Help for candidates is available at: www.neas.nhs.uk/careers/advice-for-candidates.aspx

The Wildern Partnership SCITT is a school centred initial teacher training programme that has been developed through years of collaboration with partnership schools, colleges and universities. Based at our bespoke training centre on the Wildern school site near Southampton, we offer a high quality, cross phase and coherent training programme which is adapted to suit individual needs.

The full time one year training programme commences in September.

Successful completion of the programme will result in being awarded Primary or Secondary QTS, and a PGCE at Masters Level.

100% of trainees who complete the programme are employed. As a result of the carefully planned training and support received, trainees become effective teachers who are in demand to meet local needs.

The cross phase aspect of the programme is a significant feature and strength. For much of the central based training primary and secondary trainees are together, maximising experiences and providing opportunities to work alongside primary and secondary colleagues and learn from each other.

In addition the element of the programme designated as ‘Enriched Learning Experience’ affords trainees the opportunity to spend time in a variety of settings in the alternative Key Stages and, where possible, Special Schools giving a genuine cross phase breadth of experience.

Places are available in both Primary and Secondary via UCAS. Further information can be found at www.wildernpartnership.co.uk

Great career beginnings across the business Apprentices are welcome all over BT, recognised for the value they bring and rewarded with a promising career start. Abid and Aima describe what apprenticeship life is like for them.

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D

on’t be mistaken into thinking that apprenticeships are restricted to a handful of technical or practical roles. The truth is that organisations like BT are creating a growing number of diverse apprenticeship opportunities in commercial functions, reflecting just how much worth apprentices can bring to business and how successful these programmes can be in launching your career straight after school or college.

At BT we know it’s crucial that our people reflect the diversity of our customers from around the world. And we know that having people from all walks of life makes us a more creative and innovative company. That variety of experience, culture and background allows our teams to truly use the power of communication to make a better world, giving everyone products and services which actually make a difference in their lives.

We make sure we do whatever we can to support our people too: making them feel valued and included and unlocking their potential is essential.

We’re incredibly proud that two of our leaders appear in the Green Park Top 100 Influential BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnicities) Business Leaders 2016 list, and that some of our female leaders have recently received Women of the Future, Everywoman in Technology and Rising Stars in Technology awards.

Apprentices are employed throughout BT, from roles in finance, HR and cyber security to vehicle technicians and Openreach engineers.

Technology and telecoms are still at BT’s core, as one of the world’s oldest communications providers but, in order to keep innovating in these areas, we need to train specialists in all parts of the business – our apprenticeship programme is part of that.

We treat all our people fairly and actively encourage and celebrate difference. We help our people reach their potential without prejudice and with dignity and respect.

BT offers apprenticeships at four different levels – intermediate, advanced, higher and degree – which have different entry requirements.

Depending on your scheme you will have the chance to gain professional qualifications and even a degree. You may also spend time in different departments and benefit from a mentoring scheme.

Meet the apprentices Abid is a third-year finance apprentice and working towards a professional qualification through the Chartered Institution of Management Accountants (CIMA). He describes his time at BT and what he likes most about his apprenticeship: ‘I spend 12 months in different areas of BT trying to build up my portfolio for my professional qualification. Previously I was based in a role heavily based around capital reporting.

I’ve now moved into group property – so my team do all the finance behind BT’s property estate and all the transactions relating to that. The beauty of the scheme is that you do the rotations across different business units to not only build up your portfolio of experience, but also to find out what you want to do at the end of it.’

Abid is gaining a real sense of what interests him in his work: ‘For my next role I would like to go into commercial finance, looking at product ranges – taking charge of a product from a financial perspective.’ And he has plans for after the apprenticeship, too. ‘Once the apprenticeship is over, the idea is that I get let loose into BT to apply for finance analyst/ finance manager roles within the company.’

Aima was in the army before joining the Openreach Trainee Engineer scheme. Now a network engineer, she is on BT’s Future Leaders Programme.

“When I was at school, I wanted to be a doctor but I never enjoyed sitting still and preferred getting stuck into practical work. I had an interest in the growing telecommunications industry, so I studied for an Electronics and Communication Engineering degree, and graduated in 2008. Jobs were in short supply, so I joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) Corps as a vehicle mechanic engineer.

“I developed many skills during my five years in the army, and after a tour of duty in Afghanistan, I felt it was time for the next challenge.

“I enrolled on a communications course

Openreach Trainee Engineers go out and about maintaining and fixing the Openreach network, in people’s homes and in the open air.

Supply chain apprentices help ensure that everything BT needs is sourced and delivered on time and as efficiently as possible.

Customer service operations apprentices speak to customers on a daily business, resolving their problems and ensuring an excellent customer experience.

Engineering Services apprentices maintain the physical parts of BT’s business, whether that’s cables, equipment or machinery.

Billing apprentices help handle customer payments and make sure they are received on time.

Sales apprentices sell business solutions and specialist products over the phone, or they may analyse sales figures.

IT apprentices work across a number of different roles and gain a technical understanding of BT’s products and services. You could be providing IT support to customers or developing its websites.

Cyber security apprentices tackle cyber crime, decrypt data and untangle malware in order to protect the business.

and met some lecturers who had worked for Openreach, which inspired me to apply for their apprenticeship scheme. As soon as I started, I was on the road with my own van, meeting engineers and learning the ropes “on the job”. That was combined with classroom-based courses and NVQ days, so I now have an NVQ and BTEC Level 3 in ICT and telecommunications, and I’m a fully qualified network engineer.

“The days are really varied – anything from climbing telephone poles to installing new cables and making sure everything runs smoothly. I want to challenge the misconceptions of what it means to be an engineer: it doesn’t necessarily mean getting your hands dirty all the time.

You’re challenged to think outside the box and develop great problem-solving skills. I haven’t come across many female engineers, but I’d love to encourage more women to follow this path.

Vehicle technician apprentices look after Openreach vehicles, which are used to maintain the BT’s communication network across the UK. Finance apprentices look at the money going in and out of the business and study towards a professional accountancy qualification.

HR apprentices help develop BT’s people in their careers.

Business management apprentices help deliver year-on-year improvements in sales, by negotiating contract terms with business customers or looking at financial forecasts, for example.

“The opportunities are there – for example, I was delighted to be accepted on to a Future Leaders Programme recently and have a senior executive mentor me. I have a ten-week-old daughter, Eden, and I want to show her what women can achieve. I hope one day I can be the one mentoring others to help them fulfil their potential.”

The benefit of the variety in BT’s apprenticeship programmes is that there is something to suit a whole range of different personalities and talents. Abid enjoys the commercial and numerical skills he is gaining, while Aima is the perfect match for her practical and technical programme.

Apprenticeships at BT provide a view of the many different parts that make up the company and can be a gateway to an exciting school leaver career. www.bt.com/apprentices

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Interview with Sarah Tudor Director of Employer Partnerships Staffordshire University

Degree Apprenticeships What are the reasons that make Staffordshire University the right choice for BAME students in the area of apprenticeships?

Apprenticeships offer an opportunity to learn and earn and a chance to apply learning in practice in a real job. The Government has put increased participation at the heart of its new Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network with a pledge to increase the percentage of apprenticeship starts by 20% by 2020”. Staffordshire University offers apprentices the opportunity to study a range of higher and degree apprenticeships and with an increasing number of vacancies can provide employers with a range of talented young people to recruit from. Staffordshire has developed additional support packages for all students, including apprentices from BAME backgrounds to ensure they can fully immerse themselves in their study and achieve their potential.

What are the components of the higher and degree apprenticeships at Staffordshire University as a workbased route to higher education?

As an apprentice at Staffordshire University you will have access to the best lecturers, support staff and facilities. Your learning will be directly applied to your workplace, enabling you to demonstrate

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progress towards timely completion of the apprenticeship. Higher and degree apprenticeships consist of study and work elements, you will work for at least 30 hours each week and there is a requirement that 20% of your working hours (over the duration of the apprenticeship) will be ‘off the job’. All courses linked to apprenticeships are designed to meet the specific needs of employers and will ensure you are able to operate effectively in your role. The off the job learning will provide an opportunity to learn the theoretical aspects and your on the job learning will provide the opportunity to learn the practical aspects of the role.

stages and can provide support for students applying for apprenticeships e.g. with CV, application and interview techniques to ensure applicants are in the best position to secure an apprenticeship. Most higher and degree apprenticeships last between 2 and 4 years, providing plenty of time for you to develop you skills on and off the job. Your employer will pay you a salary and they will also pay the fees for the apprenticeship. You get a degree or higher level qualification, work experience and best of all, a debt-free university experience.

What are the potential benefits to BAME students from studying an apprenticeship through Staffordshire University?

Staffordshire University works with many regional and national employers and offers a range of higher and degree apprenticeships and we are working closely with employers to develop more to meet their needs. If you haven’t got an organisation or job in mind we can guide you through the process and help you to apply for available vacancies. For more information, get in touch with us on 0800 169 2148 or apprenticeships@staffs. ac.uk and take a look at our website www.staffs.ac.uk/higher-degreeapprenticeships/apprentices/

At Staffordshire University you will be fully supported through the apprenticeship with a course leader that understands your needs and works with you and your employer to track progress to support you to achieve your potential. The University’s dedicated careers coaches in our Careers Network are available from initial apprenticeship application

How can BAME students get involved?

Staffordshire University Explains Apprenticeships Apprenticeships have long offered the opportunity for young people to study qualifications alongside a job. Many apprenticeships have traditionally been in trade or administration and service occupations, however the introduction of degree apprenticeships has opened a route for professional occupations to use apprenticeships to upskill their future workforce.

Degree apprenticeships offer a different route to degree-level skills and knowledge, combining full-time work with part-time study.

Whether students choose the traditional university route to gaining a degree or the newer degree apprenticeship, they will end the study period with a degree that means exactly the same. Degree apprentices get to don a cap and gown following completion of their degree and leave university with several years’ work experience and a suite of transferrable skills.

There are many other benefits to be gained from undertaking a degree apprenticeship, including: - a salary for working in the relevant occupation (a degree apprentices can earn upwards of ÂŁ300 per week); - the opportunity to learn from colleagues across all levels of the business; - the ability to gain a degree without the need to pay university tuition fees (as the employer covers these).

Degree apprenticeships are currently available in a wide range of occupations and Staffordshire University is working closely with groups of employers to develop more to meet employer demands.

Degree Apprenticeships Available to study at Staffordshire University - Digital and Technology

Solutions Professional - Chartered Manager - Healthcare Science Practitioner

the required entry qualifications), however they also look for personal aptitude, attitude and enthusiasm. Degree apprenticeships are not an easy route, apprentices will need to work for at least 30 hours and combine their work with face-to-face or online study to meet the demands of their degree. At Staffordshire University, we work closely with employers to design delivery of degree apprenticeships to meet their specific needs. We can deliver in blocks throughout the year, deliver each In addition to degree apprenticeships, higher apprenticeship offer similar benefits, with shorter, week or combine attendance at university with degree-level qualifications available in a range of online study. occupations.

Degree apprenticeships will continue to grow as more employers develop and design new Higher Apprenticeships apprenticeships to meet their skills needs.

Whilst the number increases, competition can Available to study at Staffordshire University be tough so apprentices need to be prepared to - Healthcare Assistant Practitioner regularly seek vacancies, keep in contact with - Chartered Legal Executive universities and register their interest to ensure - Operations/Department Manager they are the first to know about new vacancies.

National vacancies are advertised through the - Network Engineer government Find and Apprenticeship website.

- Software Engineer In development at Staffordshire University - Police Constable - Social Worker - Registered Nurse - Control/Technical Support Engineer - Manufacturing Engineer - Paramedic

Many universities have recognised the value of working closely with employers to design and deliver degree apprenticeships. The introduction of a levy (tax) is leading businesses to think carefully about their future workforce needs and they are creatively considering the benefits of developing degree apprentices to meet their current and future skills gaps.

As one of the largest university providers of higher and degree apprenticeships, Staffordshire University can help you to understand more about apprenticeships.

Visit our website www.staffs.ac.uk/higher-degreeapprenticeships/apprentices/ or register to visit one of our Open Days www.staffs. ac.uk/events/opendays/

Employers are looking for qualifications or experience to ensure apprentices are ready to study at degree level (all apprenticeships state

Sarah Tudor Director of Employer Partnerships Staffordshire University

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Equity’s campaign to challenge the entertainment industry on the persistent under-representation of diversity, and discriminatory practice in casting.

Equity calls on employers to Play Fair on inclusive casting Deliver more diversity on stage, screen, online and on-air Play Fair with the law Improve their knowledge of their legal duties and deliver good practice Play Fair on accessibility Give proper thought to ensuring disabled performers have equality of opportunity in the casting process Play Fair and monitor Monitor the diversity of their casts and performers so progress can be measured

Equity members and student members are at the heart of all campaigns.

If you’re not yet part of the union then find out more, join today and help make a difference. www.equity.org.uk/join

Culture, Leisure, Arts & Media From galleries and visitor attractions to advertising, design agencies and broadcasters, this sector is for people who want to use their creative skills.

When talking about careers in leisure, arts and media people often think of jobs in television, film or the theatre. However, this sector has much more to offer. As well as jobs in production, lighting and sound engineering, there is marketing and communications, architecture and the built environment. Digital and interactive media play an important part in the arts, as do print and online publishing and photography. There are also our artists and great writers. The list is endless and growing.

Routes into careers in leisure, arts and media are varied. Some at entry level require no formal qualifications while others require a degree and postgraduate qualifications are helpful. Careers in the arts and media are some of the most highly-contested around, with entry-level jobs in this industry attracting hundreds of applications. There is also the scope for freelance work as well as setting up your own company.

Channel

Challenging the Status Quo A

s a British Nigerian growing up in Macclesfield in the 1970s, I was stopped each winter and asked if it was the first time I had seen snow. (Of course it wasn’t the first time I had seen snow – I had lived my whole life on up on the edge of the Pennine). I rarely saw people who looked like me on television. So much so that if someone who did look like me miraculously appeared on screen, my sister would yell at me to come downstairs and marvel at the sight before our very eyes.

That was until 1982 when Channel 4 burst onto our screens. In fact it wasn’t until 1982 that colour telly really arrived in Macclesfield and when I say colour, I mean telly that represented the richness and diversity of contemporary British society, whether that be ethnicity, disability, sexuality, region, religion or anything else. Our determination to push boundaries has resulted in some of the most iconic moments in TV history – the first lesbian kiss on Brookside; the first long-running black sitcom in Desmonds; pioneering LGBT drama like Cucumber, Banana and Tofu; and, of course, both the London 2012 Paralympics Games and the fantastic Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

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Channel 4 leads the way in standing up for those whose voices are not always given the platform they deserve and giving airtime to minority voices.

And to this day, Channel 4 leads the way in standing up for those whose voices are not always given the platform they deserve and giving airtime to minority voices.

In fact Channel 4 News is overwhelmingly the most popular news programme with BAME audiences.

We have evolved over the past three decades, but Channel 4’s identity remains true to its roots – edgy, challenging the status quo, alternative and still pushing those boundaries, on and off-screen. We continue to support new diverse talent both in front of and behind the camera. On screen we have launched and supported the careers of Michaela Coel in Chewing Gum, Gemma Chan, star of Humans and Channel 4 News’ Fatima Manji. Behind the camera, we have seen graduates of Channel 4’s Diversity Production Schemes progress to senior positions in the industry. For example Marvyn Benoit is now a Commissioning Executive at Sky and Beejal Maya-Patel is a Commissioning Executive at the BBC. In 2017, you will see new shows, like Extremely British Muslims, Richard Ayoade presenting The Crystal Maze and the launch of new diverse talent through comedy BLAPS.

particularly at senior levels, stubbornly white, able bodied and in many areas male. As Hollywood star Idris Elba said, he is incredibly proud that “Britain is the most successful, diverse multicultural country on Earth, but you wouldn’t always know that if you turned the TV on.” That is why we launched our 360 Degree diversity Charter in 2015, which aims to show leadership in diversity at every level. It is about all the people who contribute to our content, not just those on screen.

The Charter isn’t about hiring people because they are black, gay or disabled, but what it is about is widening the pools in which we fish from so that the widest possible range of people can come through our doors based on their talent. But you should always hire the best person for the job!

Diversity drives innovation and means that we can include everybody and connect with our audiences by portraying the richness and variety of modern Britain. Having a diversity of voices both on and off screen makes our programmes stand out in a crowded marketplace and, in my opinion, so much better to watch.

At Channel 4, we run many schemes and initiatives to increase diversity in our industry.

At entry level, Channel 4’s highly successful Production Training Scheme will be recruiting again this year. Opportunities will be available at a variety of television productions companies working across our Drama, Factual and Comedy content. We offer paid 12 month contracts alongside monthly training delivered

by ThinkBIGGER! delivered at Channel 4 HQ, to give you an amazing and rounded foot in the door of the TV production sector.

The scheme is particularly aimed at people with disabilities, from BAME communities or disadvantaged backgrounds – because these groups are currently underrepresented in the television industry, which is something we want to change.

But we still haven’t embraced diversity quite as much as we should have, particularly behind the camera and our industry remains,

This year as part of our new work experience opportunities at Channel 4, we will be inviting 60 more amazing people, who are on a

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Our apprenticeships are about helping bright people get experience in this industry, get a new qualification and get paid at the same time. They’re our way of encouraging talented people who are looking for an alternative to university, whatever their background. mission to get into TV, to spend a week with us at Channel 4. This is your opportunity to understand more about the insides of the broadcaster and gain hands on experience working with one of our teams.

This is open to absolutely anyone who wants to break into the industry – you do not need to have attended a 4Talent event previously.

Work experience at Channel 4 will not cost you a penny, we’ll cover your travel and accommodation costs if needed and your expenses across the week.

Our apprenticeships are about helping bright people get experience in this industry, get a new qualification and get paid at the same time. They’re our way of encouraging talented people who are looking for an alternative to university, whatever their background. With an apprenticeship, we invite you to work in one of our departments for 12 months. You learn how everything works, what everyone does, and how it all fits into the bigger picture of Channel 4. Alongside your job role you work towards an NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration, Creative & Digital Media or Social Media & Digital Marketing. On top of that, we give you a £18,500 salary for your hard work. We know. We spoil you.

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Each year Channel 4 and MyKindaFuture head out on the road across the UK to promote careers in the media industry and to find exciting new talent we call our Rising Stars. We’re looking for new and diverse voices that want to bring something different to our industry, who want to shine a light on underrepresented areas or issues. This involves our 4Talent team going out on the road across Britain to talk to people about possible careers at Channel 4 – all too often many would never have even considered a career in the media, so 4Talent does a fantastic job in helping these young people realise that they are just the type of people

we want applying to work with us. Last year the Channel 4 Pop Ups put us in touch with more than 650 people across Britain, more than 20% of whom were from BAME backgrounds.

This year we are announcing a number of new initiatives, one of which will be to progress the careers of 10 BAME people at Channel 4. We will also want to increase the diversity of directors and provide opportunities for up to 50 people from under-represented groups, including BAME. We have many more opportunities that can be found on our website.

And we will continue to support Diamond – the world’s first industry-wide monitoring database system which will show exactly who is working in front of and behind the camera in the tv industry – the actual data of who makes our TV programmes. It will also show what characters viewers are seeing on their screens, the perceived data.

This will provide vital insight into where the industry needs to focus its efforts to become genuinely diverse.

2016 saw Channel 4 named Company of the Year at the National

Diversity Awards – a huge honour and one we are incredibly proud to have received.

Undoubtedly we’ve made a lot of ground but the reality is that we’ve still got a long way to go and much to learn.

To coin a phrase from Shonda Rhimes, our aim isn’t just to diversify television, on and off screen; but rather we want to normalize it so that it accurately represents the world that we all live in. www.4talent.channel4.com www.jobs.channel4.com

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Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

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drama schools to casting directors to writers, the challenges of representing the diversity of the world on and off stage and screen are high on the agenda.

D The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is committed to implementing real, visible changes in drama training and the wider industry.

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iversity of drama students is not a new problem. RADA adheres to a 50:50 female:male student ratio on its BA (Hons) Acting course, and reflects that gender balance throughout the training in the plays and materials studied – a simple and instantly effective way to create important balance. Yet other areas of diversity are more complex.

A report commissioned by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation in 2016, Centre Stage: The Pipeline of BAME Talent, reported that the levels of diversity in UK theatre are worryingly low. Andrew Lloyd Webber described the industry as “hideously white”, citing a crisis that threatens the industry’s survival. The report summarises many of the long-discussed issues in the industry: from

Are quotas the answer? If RADA can introduce a quota for gender, why not do the same for other under-represented areas? It is something the Academy discusses frequently with students and graduates. Students and graduates from under-represented groups consistently say that they are not in favour of introducing quotas, preferring increased opportunities over enforced quotas.

So what works? RADA’s wider activities (including touring productions of Shakespeare for Schools and community initiatives) and getting the word out there are helping to achieve an increasingly diverse student body. In the student cohort enrolling on the BA (Hons) Acting between 2013-2016, 25% were from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background, while 33% of students identified as disabled (including Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)). It’s an upward trend: in the current

acting cohort, 30% of students are from a BAME background.

The Centre Stage report links the lack of BAME students with financial barriers. RADA never turns down a student or potential student due to their financial situation.

Fundraising and commercial activity mean RADA is able to award scholarship funds totalling £420,000 in 2015-16; in the same period, the Academy provided financial assistance to 74% of its BA (Hons) Acting students. RADA’s audition fee is one of the lowest, and RADA offers audition fee waivers and travel bursaries, and regional auditions and interviews.

Opportunities for young performers to develop their voice are a crucial part of the solution. In June 2016 RADA commissioned a new play from award-winning playwright Charlene James, bricks and pieces, for a cast of black actors – a work commissioned as a direct result of the frustrations of black students about the parts available to them. In spring 2017, the Academy is proud to be able to present the UK premiere of Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky, featuring an all-black cast.

The industry-wide issue cannot be combated by one institution alone, and that extends to diversity in technical theatre, directors, and among drama school staff. RADA has strong relationships with many organisations that are tackling diversity together and effectively. In 2016, in partnership with Artistic Directors of the Future (ADF), RADA facilitated collaborations between current students, recent graduates and ADF directors, performing pieces from Simeilia Hodge-Dalloway’s Audition Speeches for Black, South Asian and Middle Eastern Actors, in an event called ‘Beyond the Canon’. Another event will take place in April 2017, part of RADA’s commitment to develop training and theatre in the UK and build an infrastructure that allows emerging talents from all walks of life to develop their craft, have long-term successful careers and become the gatekeepers of the future.

RADA is immensely proud of the achievements of its alumni, who continue to achieve success in all areas of performance

and technical arts, maintaining a lifetime’s career either behind the scenes or on stage or screen. In a rapidly changing world, the Academy’s success is measured by the ability of its graduates to remain at the cutting edge and to help influence these changes. We are pleased to see exceptional work on stage and screen being created by Hiran Abeysekera, Jaygann Ayeh, Fehinti Balogun, Lolita Chakrabarti, Tanmay Dhanania, Cynthia Erivo, O-T Fagbenle, David Harewood, Naeem Hayat, Thusitha Jayasundera, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, David Jonsson, Tamara Lawrance, Adrian Lester, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tanya Moodie, Jai Morjaria, Sophie Okonedo, Ellora Torchia and Susan Wokoma, among others.

“We are at a tipping point,” believes Edward Kemp, Director of RADA. “There is a perception and excitement that we might be on the verge of fundamental change in the face of British drama. Drama schools are doing unprecedented work to champion and encourage diverse actors and artists.

Yet our capacity to do more on our own is limited; we need others to take up the challenge with us.”

RADA TRAINS

actors | costume makers | lighting technicians and designers property makers | scenery builders | scenic artists set and costume designers | sound technicians and designers stage managers | technical and production managers rada.ac.uk

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Is Our Stage Your Next Stage?

If you are thinking about training at drama school or considering a career in theatre, film or television, then you are opening the door to a world of creative challenges and exciting opportunities to make an impact. And nowhere is that more true than at LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art).

We are old, not old-fashioned As the oldest drama school in the UK (over 150 years old, in fact), we have been training actors, directors, stage managers, lighting and sound designers and other theatre technicians for a long time and we know what it takes to prepare people for successful careers. Benedict Cumberbatch CBE, Chiwetel Ejiofor CBE, Ruth Wilson,

David Oyelowo OBE, Rose Leslie, Sam Claflin, Ellie Fanyinka, Luke Treadaway, Leah Harvey and hundreds more of the actors and technicians working on stages and screens around the world have passed through our doors and thrived on our vocational training.

Our 150 years of experience makes us very good at what we do. We are committed

to remaining at the cutting edge of developments in the performing arts and to making sure our students have the access they need to the industry. This year, we have opened the doors to our new centre for drama training in west London; providing our students with exceptional new training and rehearsal spaces, two new theatres, a fully-equipped digital screen and audio suite, and much more.

So, what does ‘vocational training’ actually mean?

It means that LAMDA students get their hands dirty. Our training is practical and our students learn by doing and experiencing. We work in studios, not classrooms; theatres, not lecture halls; workshops, not libraries.

We don’t wait until our students have graduated to get them ready for life after LAMDA; our careers team offer guidance to our students throughout their training. Final year acting students perform in public productions, national events, competitions and in showcases in the West End for audiences of agents, casting directors and other key industry figures, alongside family and friends.

LAMDA’s Production and Technical Arts students (who train for careers behindthe-scenes) do two six-week work placements in their second year, and another 10 to 12 week placement as part of the optional BA (Hons) top-up third year. Many of our students get jobs as a direct result of these placements.

We prepare our students for work so that, when they leave LAMDA, they start their first job confident in their skills and ready to succeed.

Worried about how much it will cost?

We audition and/or interview everyone who submits their application for LAMDA before the deadline. We don’t ask for academic qualifications or grades; we ask only for talent, passion and a commitment to learn. We offer scholarships and bursaries to help with tuition and living costs to ensure the most talented students can access our training regardless of their financial circumstances. We also offer audition fee waivers for applicants who need them.

We host auditions in nine UK cities, as well as London, to make the process more accessible and affordable.

If you are concerned about funding your training, you are welcome to contact LAMDA’s Admissions Team to learn more about the options before applying.

If you’re successful at your audition/ interview and offered a place to train with us, we’ll then send you information about the ways you can fund your training and the financial support available, and help you through the process.

Where do you start?

Visit www.lamda.org.uk for more information about all of our full-time courses and for details of our summer short courses (which are a great way to get a taste of our training and life at drama school). Or chat to us on social media; you’ll find us almost everywhere as LAMDAdrama.

Students who train at LAMDA find themselves part of a community of classmates, tutors and mentors who support them throughout their training, and beyond. We deal in imagination, passion and creativity – our students are encouraged to take risks, to make mistakes, to try again, to succeed and to soar.

We look forward to meeting you at LAMDA!

TRAIN WITH US We train exceptional actors, directors, stage managers and technicians for careers in theatre, film and television.

Visit www.lamda.org.uk to learn more about our full-time and short courses, and ways you can fund your training.

LONDON ACADEMY OF MUSIC & DRAMATIC ART

Q&A Noel Leese What was it about the course that interested you the most?

Noel Leese is a final year student studying on the BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education degree course at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. As he gets ready to progress in to the industry, he reflects on his journey so far ...

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What first attracted you to study at Central?

Central has a good relationship with the further education college I studied at and so I was invited to a couple of workshops and plays at Central, and each time I knew it was where I wanted to study. What initially attracted me to study at Central was the historical reputation and alumni, however what really caught my interest was the fact that Central specialises in drama and theatre, so collaborations and networking between students can occur naturally, and frequently, and resources and skills are shared in a way that allows for exciting and ambitious experiences and projects to be undertaken.

What interested me the most about studying BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (BA DATE) was the vast subject area covered in the course. The course involves pedagogy, facilitation, all areas of theatre making, and opportunities to gain valuable experience and practical learning opportunities. I’ve been able to explore several areas of applied theatre, build my confidence in teaching and facilitation, build my performance, writing and devising skills, put my ideas into practice and build valuable friendships with people who are as enthusiastic about applied theatre as I am.

You received funding for your course through a National Scholarship Programme award. How did you apply for this scholarship and how has it helped you in your studies?

I received funding for my course through a National Scholarship Programme award. I

was offered this in my first year and it helped to pay for reading materials, to get tickets to plays, arts events and opportunities so that I could expand my autonomous learning experiences whilst still figuring out how to manage financially.

You’re currently undertaking an external placement with Gendered Intelligence [www.genderedintelligence.co.uk].

What made you choose this particular organisation and how has this helped progress your development on the course?

Gendered Intelligence (GI) has personally and academically helped and inspired me throughout my time at Central. Because of Central’s close ties with GI, as soon as I started studying at Central I was made aware of the organisation and started participating as a young person in their youth groups and projects.

Now in the first term of my final year, being able to do a placement with GI as part of my studies has been amazing, as I am now experiencing how the organisation is run from the perspective of a young person who has benefited from their work.

Having studied at Central on the BA DATE course, what are your career ambitions and have these changed at all as you have progressed through the course?

When I started studying at Central I intended to become a teacher, however although I’ve moved on from that initial ambition, the opportunities experienced on the BA DATE course have allowed me to learn what my skills are practically as well as academically. I am currently more open minded about my career options, and am particularly interested in youth theatre and LGBT awareness.

What has been your favourite moment as a Central student?

My favourite moment during my time at Central was a project where myself and four other students worked with an LGBT youth group in Manchester to put on a showcase in a week. When planning and facilitating drama lessons for the LGBT youth group I utilised the inclusive practices that I’d learnt from participating as a young person in GI and other LGBT

youth groups. Therefore, after receiving feedback from participants, it felt great to know that my input had helped to make them feel more confident in performing and communicating. There were many challenges, and we all learnt a lot about ourselves during that project, but being able to put what I’d learnt into practice and help to build confidence and lasting unity in a group of young people was an amazing experience.

The BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education degree programme is one of 17 undergraduate degree courses offered at Central; there is also a ‘Writing for Performance’ version of the BA DATE course available which allows students the same opportunities as the above programme but also focuses on the writer’s role within a wide range of performance contexts. Other subject areas available include Acting and Theatre Practice (12 individual courses covering theatre design, crafts and production).

For information on courses at Central visit www.cssd.ac.uk

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no. 1 performing arts conservatoire for student satisfaction

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The Professional Footballers’ Association The PFA is the world’s largest sporting union having been in continuous existence since 1907.

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he PFA is involved both nationally and internationally in every aspect of a player’s career, and play a key role in the decision-making process affecting all our members and the game in general through our working relationships with The Premier League, The FA and English Football League.

We are also founder members of FIFPro the International Players Union, which looks after players throughout the world and deals with FIFA and the Confederations such as UEFA on all player matters.

We directly employ over 100 people throughout the numerous departments who look after both the financial and personal interests of approximately 5000 current members and including approximately 1500 scholars, and 50,000 former members.

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PFA Departments include Coaching, Education, Community and Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR), Equalities, Financial, Medical, Player Management, Player Welfare and Benevolent. Every department is focused to servicing the needs of the membership and all have an equality strand running throughout to ensure that equality is at the heart of every area of the unions work.

One area of our work and that of our members which doesn’t always get the credit or publicity it deserves is the charitable contributions made by the PFA and players at every professional club in the country, through our Corporate Social Responsibility Programme.

by Simone Pound This area of a footballers work rarely goes noticed and yet has made a significant impact into charitable contributions and servicing needs using football as a tool.

The PFA have received nationwide appeal and worldwide acclaim as a union role model for other sports and professions, particularly with regard to our anti-racism programmes, drug awareness programmes, mental health welfare and out unique Football in the Community programme to which all our members make such valuable contributions off the pitch as well as on it.

The PFA worked with the Commission for Racial Equality to found the Kick It Out Many of our members have set up their own campaign which is now in its twenty-first year charitable foundations and which raise hundreds and which has worked tirelessly to change of thousands of pounds to help those less the face of football with regard to racism and fortunate both here in the UK and across the world. discrimination. Changes in football rules, club

behavior codes and government legislation now means that discriminatory behavior is unlawful and unacceptable in the game. There is still much work to do to eradicate all forms of discriminatory behavior and the PFA is committed to working with its partners including Show Racism the Red Card to tackle this.

Show Racism the Red Card work with players and clubs to educate and inspire young people, schools, teachers and communities against all forms of discrimination including Islamophobia and Homophobia.

Football is a multi-million-pound industry that provides a vast array of careers, not just for the talented minority who make it as a professional footballer; there are many other roles to be found working in football.

We support Football Unites, Racism Divides, the FARE Network and work with UEFA and FIFA to combat issues on a European level.

A lot of the work that we do takes place behind the scenes but we are always working to tackle all areas of the game that affect injustice and inequality.

coaching pathway for applicants. As well as this we have worked over a number of years to ensure that coaching opportunities at clubs are accessible by clear and transparent procedures and accountability for clubs to ensure BAME representation at interview levels.

Football is a multi-million-pound industry that provides a vast array of careers, not just for the talented minority who make it as a professional footballer; there are many other roles to be found working in football.

Over the past decade the PFA has lobbied all of the football bodies (as well as government and other sports) and worked closely with American lawyers to create an avenue that will address the current underrepresentation of BAME coaches in the professional game.

Football clubs have a number of departments from Community Trusts to Communications, Financial to Medical all of whom host a range of opportunities for graduates and school-leavers considering a career in the beautiful game.

As the football player’s union, the PFA works hard to ensure opportunities are available for everyone to succeed in the game.

Whilst BAME representation of professional footballers on-field is made up of approximately 30% of players from a BAME background, the PFA continue to address the under-representation of British born Asians playing professional football and the under-representation of BAME professional footballers developing into coaches across the game.

We were delighted when in 2016 the English Football League (EFL) voted to amend recruitment procedures at their clubs to ensure at Academy levels there was BAME representation at interview level for coaching positions, and a pilot number of clubs who also followed this process at top-flight level.

The PFA are also committed to addressing an increase in BAME representation at clubs in general, to reflect the communities that they represent and to demonstrate a united and cohesive environment for everyone to thrive.

As well as this we are working to ensure greater BAME representation at Board level.

To this end, the Get on Board programme has been developed. The benefits of creating diverse boards are very clear, however there is work to do in all sectors in maximizing this potential and addressing some of the gaps in age, gender and ethnicity.

The I Am On-Board programme prepares individuals to take up board appointments after completion of an intensive six-month programme using the core skills and knowledge of football that the participants have with corporate governance experience.

A core focus of our work to date has been to ensure BAME coaches are qualified to coach in the professional game and to open up and highlight the pathway for coaches in the game to excel. This has been by way of ensuring recruitment procedures for coaching badges are transparent with a specific criteria and

The PFA are fully committed to this innovative programme of development for former and current footballers. Focusing on governance and boards across football, sport and further afield provides an increased opportunity of staying in the game and being involved in decision--making of the game. We see this as one of the many areas of support that we

provide for our players which will equip them with career opportunities after their playing careers.

Gender equality at work and specifically on boards has been highlighted as an area to be addressed by academics, the media and regulators to enhance the performance of any company. The widely quoted Lord Davies review sets targets for the inclusion of women on the boards of FTSE companies to address this and mechanisms are needed to ensure this becomes a reality.

Whist women are currently underrepresented in the game we are seeing an influx of women working across the field and have worked tirelessly on behalf of our female membership to ensure their rights in the game.

The first female professional football team was Fulham which turned professional in 2000. At that time, we worked with the squad and FA to ensure that they could become members of the PFA and have worked since then to ensure women’s football has grown to become the biggest participation sport in the UK, and that there are pathways from grassroots to the top of the game. We would like to see greater opportunities for women at every level of the game and support our membership in their work ensuring they have an equal part in the PFA Players Player of the Year celebrations and ensuring female representation on the PFA Management Committee and at Senior Management Level.

We are working to encourage greater opportunities for everyone across the game. As the player’s union, we have a responsibility towards our members but also a corporate and social responsibility for society as a whole and to this end will continue our work tackling inequality and eradicating discrimination and creating pathways for everyone to succeed in our beautiful game.

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Diversity Drives Creativity in the Digital Industry SKILLS SHORTAGE

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he UK is the leading European trailblazer in digital. We have a vibrant industry across a host of disciplines including but not limited to web, mobile, apps and games development, AI and virtual reality. However, the digital sector is experiencing a huge skills shortage and the Government’s ‘Digital Skills Crisis’ report from June 2016 predicted that the UK will need another 745,000 workers with digital skills by the end of 2017 .

people submitted for a tech apprenticeship, only 3.7% were successful in 2015 (source: Learning and Work Institute) Diversity is critical to the growth of the digital industry

Nearly 140,000 new, skilled recruits are needed to meet tech-sector demand each year, with 52% of all digital businesses reporting a tech-skills gap.

Although much is being done about nurturing young talent, diversity has remained an issue at the top of the agenda, and many companies within this sector are working to improve their diversity. The Drum’s Diversity Census report showed that 85% of the digital industry identify as white which is an increase to those who identified as non-white in 2007 in the Institute Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) survey. In London as populous for comparison, the percentage of those that identify as white is under 60% which shows there is a lot of work to be done.

BAME young people are still underrepresented in tech apprenticeships.

For example, out of the 31.6% of apprenticeship applications BAME young

It has been proven that a diverse team leads to more creative, innovative and all round better work and of course increasing a pool of talent means closing the digital skills

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gap too. Initiatives such as the Great British Diversity Experiment (GBDE) were created in response to the ever-increasing need to improve diversity in the industry.

The experiment brought together those of different genders, age, sexuality, nationality, social grade, ethnicity and religion, with 8% of those taking part identifying themselves as disabled. The results showed that having a diverse workforce led to people being able to be their authentic selves in work and being much happier in their job. It also increased the possibility of new perspectives and insights that lead to powerful and new creative ideas and there is not a quick buy-in to a dominant cultural voice in those ideas.

Why get into digital?

Digital is a vibrant and exciting industry that is yearning for new talent but why should you go into it? Well, if you’re looking to change the future, digital is where you should be. The digital sector

has created everything from mobile banking, to customised fashion, improvements in healthcare, chatbots such as Alexa as well as some of the best digital campaigns you’ve seen in recent years.

We’re always looking to push the boundaries of what is possible. We’re looking to create the next big thing, the next thing that could change the way we work, live and play.

We’re all about the thinkers, makers and dreamers and if you fit into any one of those categories, digital could be the place for you.

The digital industry is not just about coding and designing, there are a multitude of different types of jobs that need a wealth of skills. Copywriting using writing skills, content administrators who are quick at learning systems, data analysts who can identify trends and patterns in data, report writers who can construct accurate management information through to testers who spend their days testing games! How many times a day can you walk into a wall in your game?

And if that doesn’t sway you, we pay pretty well, you can wear jeans to work and we throw some awesome parties.

If you don’t want to work in a digital agency, digital disruption touches every sector from banking through to sport. Companies across all industries are in need of employees with digital skills.

How to get into digital?

Digital professionals come from a range of backgrounds and have taken different routes into the industry.

Apprenticeships are increasing in their availability in the digital industry and are becoming one of the most successful routes into the sector alongside graduate schemes.

A variety of university degrees are suitable from Computer Science to Business and Marketing and from Cyber Security to Creative Media depending on the discipline you would like to specialise in.

Regardless of qualifications or schemes, having some experience from a placement , voluntary work within the sector or being able to show a portfolio you have created in your spare time will mean you are more likely to get you through the door to interview.

The interviewer will be looking for your ability to think creatively, problem solve, take initiative and innovate.

The breadth of careers available in digital?

There are a plethora of careers available in the industry and there are new positions being created all the time some of our favourites include ‘Creator of Magic’ and ‘Digital Cowboy’. In fact, children who are starting school this year will be employed in jobs that currently don’t exist. Digital is ever moving, ever changing and in constant evolution.

There are opportunities for most skills sets, the communicators who can work in client services, the organisers who can be project managers, the thinkers who can be strategists, those good at art who can be designers and the logical minds to be programmers. The list is almost endless.

There are also lots of different types of companies that you can work for, we have agencies, consultancies, technology firms, software companies, brands or you can take an entrepreneurial approach and start your own digital company.

What can you do?

Research! Learn about digital and technology.

Learn who the companies are in the sector.

Have a look at where you think you want to work. Look at your interests and passions and see how you can use those.

Ask companies you have researched and like the look of if you can go in for a day and meet with someone and experience what it is like to work there.

Once you’ve researched, start networking. You can use LinkedIn, and reach out to people to see if they have advice or any opportunities, go to local events held by companies or people working in the disciplines you are interested in – they are often free. Twitter is a big source of networking and event advertising for the digital sector with most employees and companies having a presence and conversation.

Most of all, try things out in your own time, get to know the free tools, use online learning – self-learning will be your number one method of getting ahead and you’ll find what it is you would like to do in the digital industry.

To find out more about BIMA visit: www.bima.co.uk

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Join an exciting and dynamic Fire and Rescue Service Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is changing and becoming more diverse in the people we recruit and the services we perform.

A modern Firefighter (Woman or Man) can expect not only to fight fires but rescue people involved in road traffic collisions, provide assistance during flooding and release people trapped by accidents. They also promote community safety - explaining the risks of fire, fitting smoke alarms and giving advice to prevent fires or accidents from happening in the first place.

To be a firefighter you should live in Bedfordshire or within 10 miles of its border, be fit, over 18, have four GCSEs, be able to swim and have a full driving license (and no pending issues).

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is an ideal place to work. To find out what recruitment opportunities are available, visit www.bedsfire.com or email diversity@bedsfire.com quoting BLSM16.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service covers an urban and rural area with a rapidly growing and diverse population of over 600,000, and is within easy reach of London.

Northamptonshire

Cambridgeshire

Little Staughton Eaton Socon

Bedford

Bucks

Sandy Biggleswade

Our headquarters is in Kempston, near Bedford, and we have 14 fire stations around the county: These are located in Bedford, Kempston, Dunstable, Luton, Stopsley, Leighton Buzzard, Ampthill, Biggleswade, Harrold, Potton, Sandy, Shefford, Toddington and Woburn.

BEDFORDSHIRE Ridgmont

Woburn

Flitwick

Leighton Buzzard Dunstable

Ampthill

Supporting our female and male firefighters (both full or part-time) are a range of staff dealing with fire safety, training, technical, human resources, supplies, office services, vehicle repair and maintenance, health and safety, communications and mobilising and many other varied tasks.

Emergency Services Working for the emergency services can be an interesting and fulfilling career. It involves public responsibility and variety of challenges.

A career in the emergency services means that you are helping to make a lasting difference to people’s lives.

The sector offers many roles ranging from paramedics, ambulance technicians, coastguards and emergency planners to forensic scientists and photographers, scenes of crime officers and media relations.

The industry is renowned for its high standard of training and professional development. The emergency services in the UK currently employs around 145,000 police officers, 50,000 fire and rescue personnel and around 17,000 qualified paramedics and ambulance staff.

Health & Social Care If you have passion for helping people and are keen to make a contribution to the health and well-being of others, working in the health and social care industry is the right career choice.

Working in this sector is all about helping people suffering from problems with their physical and mental health, vulnerable people in the community and providing them with support to improve their lives.

Health and social care is a broad sector from care assistants to degree nurses. The industry offers a wide variety of career routes for candidates from different backgrounds and different qualifications.

Careers in healthcare are likely to require a mix of further study and on-the-job medical training while careers in social care often start with on-the-job training and allow candidates to work towards

professional qualifications at a later stage on in their career.

With advances in science and medicine and an increasing population there is a continuing demand for employees in this sector. It is also one of the most diverse with great opportunities for career development and progression including into management.

Counselling and Psychotherapy

by Nicola Banning and Nicola Neath, BACP Workplace

Who becomes a counsellor?

Those who are drawn to this profession are interested in working with people. It’s rarely a first career, so your experience at work, in education and in your community, means that you will have valuable transferrable skills for a future career in counselling. To know if you would suit a career in counselling or psychotherapy, consider whether you are the following: • Able to work and communicate with people from all backgrounds .

• Warm, open and empathetic, able to gain people’s trust and help them to feel relaxed.

• Patient, tolerant and sensitive with an impartial, non-judgmental attitude.

• Trustworthy and discreet, with a good sense of personal integrity and ethics.

• Resilient and self-aware with the ability to examine your own thoughts and values and understand your limitations.

If this sounds like you, you might want to consider exploring your options for undertaking counselling training. It will take a great deal of time and dedication, it costs a significant amount, and it can be personally and emotionally challenging. It can be life changing too, so you’ll need to think about how it will affect you and your family.

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Why do we need therapists and counsellors?

It is likely that one in four of us will experience a mental health problem in any one year. Campaigns such as Time to Change aim to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health. It makes good sense to get people talking about what we can do to help tackle mental health problems in schools, colleges, universities, at work and in all our communities.

The counselling and psychotherapy profession plays a crucial role in improving the health and wellbeing of our society by helping people to talk about their feelings, think about their choices or their behaviour, and make positive changes in their lives. Counsellors will work with their clients to support them with the issues they face such as anxiety, depression, relationship problems, work-related issues, bereavement, identity issues, abuse and sexual violence. It is challenging and rewarding work.

According to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) 86 per cent of members choosing to tick only one box for their ethnicity, selected ‘White British’, with the remaining 14 per cent choosing from across 13 ethnic descriptions, with some (African and Asian in particular) having virtually no representation at all.

While counselling and psychotherapy is now well recognised to have a significant

impact on the mental health of the nation, with schools, colleges, universities and workplaces all providing counselling to students and employees, the career path into the profession is not uniform or financially secure. This impacts on who is able to afford to undertake counselling training and commit to completing the additional unpaid hours of counselling to build up practice hours.

Training and qualifications Your local college may offer counselling training courses, from basic training in learning to use counselling skills through to two year counselling diplomas and postgraduate qualifications. Counselling skills are increasingly important in a range of professions, and developing your listening and communication abilities, is always worthwhile as these are eminently transferrable skills.

Most employers, and increasingly clients, understand the importance of using a therapist who is professionally trained and qualified, and is a member of a professional body. BACP Registered Membership represents the minimum level of training and experience that we recommend a client should expect from a therapist.

Challenges to consider While the number of opportunities for paid employment in the counselling field is increasing, there are not enough jobs for

everyone who is professionally trained and many roles are part-time and/or voluntary.

As counselling is often a second or third career, students will fund their own training (although some may receive bursaries/ contributions towards the funding).

In reality, it often means that the trainee counsellor must have a partner who is ‘the breadwinner’ or an alternative source of income during training. In this respect, financial barriers to enter the counselling and psychotherapy profession remain high.

Furthermore, the (450) unpaid hours that trainees counsellors need to accrue for BACP accreditation, means that counselling training can remain only available to those people who have the financial assistance to go unpaid for months (or even years) at a time.

It’s worth exploring what opportunities might exist to secure funding, scholarships and paid internships to those from BAME backgrounds to positively influence the profession and ensure that it is made up of candidates from more diverse backgrounds.

This could incentivise more effective training schemes to ensure both equality and diversity is prioritised in the hiring process of therapists and counsellors.

There may be culturally specific barriers which could prevent people from BAME communities seeking help to address mental health problems. Therefore, we need more BAME counsellors to help work with these barriers. There are reports that too many people from African and AfroCaribbean communities with mental ill health are afraid to seek treatment from a service they fear will not treat them fairly.

Men are more reluctant to talk about their mental health and according to a report by the Samaritans, men in the lowest social class, living in the most deprived areas, are up to 10 times more at risk of suicide then those in the highest social class living in the most affluent areas.

Where will I work?

Therapists may work with individuals, couples, families or groups, and may provide counselling face-to-face, over the telephone or online. They can work in a variety of settings, such as schools, universities and colleges, GP surgeries and hospitals, in the workplace, private health providers, addiction agencies, prisons, asylum/refugee agencies, disability support groups or in private practice.

Therapists often specialise in specific fields, such as addiction, sexual violence, relationships, or may work with clients on a wide range of issues.

There is more progress to be made before we can claim to have a counselling and psychotherapy profession that is truly representative of our clients and communities. It’s important to highlight this lack of diversity, so that appropriate funding, scholarships and internships to train mental health workers can be prioritised with the aim of making the counselling profession far more inclusive and one which reflects the diversity of our society. You may be key in making this progress.

Some counsellors have dual roles, such as counsellor and teacher, welfare and advice worker, co-ordinator and nurse, coach and trainer/leadership development and many have portfolio careers, offering flexible working (which can be attractive to those with caring responsibilities).

There is a lot of talk about mental health and the recognition that it needs to have parity with physical health. But it demands investment and funding, at a time when budgets for healthcare are squeezed.

However, the Government is looking at demand for a mental health counsellor in every school to address concerns about the prevalence of mental health problems in children and young people. It is estimated that over 13 million employees in the private sector have access to short-term counselling paid for by their employer, and most public sector employee working in NHS hospitals, local authorities, emergency services, schools and colleges can access counselling through their workplace.

BAME women may need culturally sensitive services, where their psychological and practical needs are understood with the option of bilingual services.

We understand that the Government is in the process of undertaking a racial audit of the disparity of treatment within public services - but there is clearly much work to be done, both to train a diverse profession and in terms of parity of funding for the treatment of mental health issues for all.

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Looking to the future but rooted in the past: How Barnardo’s is pushing itself to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation More than 150 years ago Thomas Barnardo’s vision was for a world in which no child was turned away. He believed in all the destitute children of London’s East End and was ahead of his time in striving for equality and inclusivity.

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oday Barnardo’s strives to be a fully inclusive organisation that values diversity and promotes equality both in the workplace and in its services.

In 2017 the UK’s leading children’s charity challenges itself to improve the working environment and chances for its Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees and volunteers as well as the children it supports.

“We are the UK’s oldest and largest children’s charity but society is becoming increasingly complex and the support we provide to vulnerable children and young people needs to evolve with it,” says Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan.

“To do this we need to become a more diverse organisation. Barnardo’s needs to reflect and relate to the communities we work with and we must continue to actively recruit a diverse range of people to reflect modern Britain in terms of ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability.

“We are constantly developing and improving our recruitment process, thinking about how we advertise roles, recruit volunteers and challenge unconscious bias.

“But it’s also about building on our legacy – putting the needs of children first and going

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Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan beyond social prejudice to ensure the best outcomes possible for vulnerable children in every community.

organisation to achieve the best results for Black children and young people around the country.

“Barnardo’s started its work in 1866, 60 years after the end of the slave trade, and was the first national children’s charity in England to take in vulnerable Black and dual heritage children. Our goal has always been to never turn away a child that needs us, and that remains true today.”

“Black children and young people are among the most disadvantaged in the UK,” says chair of Barnardo’s Black Workers’ Forum Neera Sharma. “They are more likely to grow up in families which are struggling to make ends meet, do less well at school and earn less as adults.

Barnardo’s is looking to the future with its new 10-year strategy. Launched last year, it sets out how the core values of equality, diversity and inclusion run through everything that the organisation does, from making services as accessible and inclusive as possible, building a diverse and representative workforce and treating everyone it supports fairly and equally.

More than two decades ago, Barnardo’s set up Black Workers’ Forums to promote racial equality throughout the organisation as well as equality of outcomes for all employees, volunteers and the children, young people and families supported by the charity.

“Barnardo’s services across the UK work with the most vulnerable children to turn around their lives. To do so requires a diverse workforce that understands and can gain the trust of local communities.

“That is why more than 20 years ago Barnardo’s set up Black Workers Forums.

These provide an opportunity for Black Staff to come together to share best practice and to support staff with their learning and development.

Open to all staff and volunteers who define themselves as Black, the forums have diverse memberships, including people of African, Caribbean, south and east Asian descent and those of dual heritage. This helps the

“These forums also provide a great opportunity for staff to develop other skills such as chairing meetings, coming to national meetings and engaging with senior management on issues relating to race equality for staff and our service users.”

It was announced in February that Barnardo’s is one of 30 organisations trialling a new tool to help drive down bias in recruitment. The

online recruitment tool, called Applied, aims to make recruitment fairer by cutting out a number of biases that can affect the application process.

For the past year Barnardo’s has also been running an innovative ‘reciprocal mentoring’ scheme that has seen senior leaders paired with more junior staff from the organisation’s three diversity forums, including the Black Workers’ Forum.

“Taking part in the scheme required courage, both from the organisation and from the individuals involved,” says Mitzi Rampersad, Barnardo’s Workforce Development Adviser.

“These were unusual relationships so it was important to prepare the pairs for the experience, including exploring unconscious bias and the power dynamic.”

Junior mentees got access to senior leaders, a greater understanding of how senior management works, increased confidence and network and career support. Senior mentors deepened and broadened their understanding of issues facing BAME staff, including the impact of white privilege on power dynamics and relationships.

“The mentor was able to express curiosity and explore the mentee’s experience, and the mentee was able to challenge the mentor’s thinking through sharing their experience and insight,” added Mitzi Rampersad. “The feedback from all participants has been extremely positive.”

Barnardo’s extends its principles of equality, diversity and inclusion to its work with children and young people and strives to reach and help children whose voices are unheard and whose needs are unmet The charity has been supporting young people into work for more than 140 years and delivers specially-tailored vocational skills and apprenticeship training that helps around 5,500 young people to climb onto the jobs ladder each year.

After leaving college, Khaled, 23, had been unemployed for a long period until he met a Barnardo’s outreach worker who alerted him to the Talent Match programme at the Hub Skills Centre, a multi-disciplinary learning centre for young people aged 14-19 in Stepney Green, east London.

“When you have a job you can find other jobs everywhere, but when you don’t, no-one will give you work,” Khaled says. “I didn’t want my

“The Barnardo’s outreach worker was really supportive and helped me with my CV, looking for jobs, applications and a bit of financial support.” family to see that I’d sunk right to the bottom.

Khaled began doing voluntary work for one day a week before taking a teaching qualification. He now works as a construction assistant at The Hub, where he teaches young people carpentry.

“I get great pleasure from being able to pass my knowledge on to the students,” he says. “In 2015 I was highly commended in the Young Builder of the Year awards. Just to be there for the awards in the Houses of Parliament was one of the best experiences that I’ve had. With the right kind of support, anything is possible.”

BAME young people leaving care are among the most vulnerable in our society. They may have been abused or neglected, or may have families who are struggling to cope in difficult circumstances.

Those problems can be worsened by the number of moves that many are forced to make during their time in care. It can seriously disrupt their education and exacerbate the educational inequalities that BAME young people already face.

Not surprisingly, many care leavers do less well at school than their peers which can have a lasting effect on their adult lives.

Care leavers are more likely to be unemployed or to get into trouble with the law and they often have trouble forming stable relationships.

Barnardo’s care leaver services have worked with thousands of care leavers, including 21-year-old Abi Ajetunmobi who was in care from age 14 and who moved to Barnardo’s Leaving Care Service when she was 17.

“It was terrifying, really terrifying,” she explains.

“I was crying the day before, saying I didn’t want to go. I had big attachments with the staff at the children’s home and it was like starting all over again. It’s semi-independent living and it’s just you; you have to do everything. There’s no one making you dinner.

“But being terrified disappeared really quickly and I had no problem making my own food because I love cooking anyway and I ended up cooking for everyone and making pizza from scratch.

“Barnardo’s was awesome. If I needed anything it was just a question of asking. They would help me with college assignments and try out my food before competitions.

“Through Barnardo’s I’ve had so many opportunities, like getting to London to see a show, meeting politicians, trying to make things better for kids coming behind me by helping with strategy plans. Not every kid gets to do that.”

Abi baked a cake that was presented to the Duchess of Cornwall at a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace last year to help to celebrate Barnardo’s 150th anniversary.

“To get to meet the Duchess was so great and she was really lovely about the cake. The whole experience is a memory I will never forget,” she says.

Through all aspects of its work, Barnardo’s respects the unique worth of every person, whether they are staff, a volunteer or a service user. It believes every person is different but equal, and that everyone’s talent should be recognised and encouraged. www.barnardos.org.uk/get_involved/job

Barnardo’s believes in all children - no matter their circumstances, gender, race, disability or behaviour – and needs a diverse workforce reflective of modern Britain to help them overcome the challenges they face and move towards a bright, happy future.

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Diversity and inclusion the bedrock of the NHS We welcome BAME FUTURES as a key enabler to encourage young people from diverse backgrounds to consider a career in the NHS.

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diverse and inclusive workforce is at the heart of the NHS, and can best be evidenced by the presence of people of different personal backgrounds and characteristics including ethnicity, age, gender, religion, disability status, and sexual orientation.

In the NHS workforce you will find people from all over the world, doing a huge range of jobs, from hospital maintenance and administration to nursing or driving or medical research, all playing an important part in caring for patients.

Diverse people from diverse backgrounds have been supporting and strengthening the NHS from the start and will continue to be its backbone.

Leading employer Our NHS workforce is huge, around 1.3 million people, in over 350 job roles, working at 1,000 different employers. As one of the leading employers in the world, we have a proud history of encouraging a culture of diversity and inclusion. Our culture is influenced by the core values in the NHS Constitution including respect and dignity, compassion and inclusion. Given the diversity of the NHS workforce and changing demographics within the population at large, these values continue to be relevant.

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Diverse communities The NHS serves diverse communities and having a diverse workforce which is truly representative of the communities they serve, provides opportunities for new insights to be shared, helping better decision making, a better understanding of the needs of patients and ultimately the delivery of high quality care. There is also an emphasis placed on creating a culture of mutual respect based on the realisation and acceptance that everyone is different, and differences bring strength and synergy to teams, groups and ultimately the organisation as a whole.

provide healthcare and work to prevent ill health in the UK. These include public and private sector organisations, community interest companies, social enterprises and charities, and you could work for the NHS or any one of these other organisations in a health role.

Patient contact and support roles

The current workforce profile comprises 17 per cent of staff from black, minority and ethnic backgrounds. We recognise that significant numbers of people from minority groups are entering the labour market and the importance of engaging with these groups to ensure we recruit the best and most talented staff now and in the future.

Some roles give you direct contact with patients, while in others you are part of a vast support network vital to delivering healthcare and preventing ill health, and good team-working is essential. Some jobs are in hospitals, others are based in the community: increasingly, health and social care services are integrated or co-ordinated in order to provide a seamless service for people with a range of needs.

Considering a career in health?

Recruiting from all backgrounds

As we have said there are more than 350 roles in health, and many of them are part of a wider team which works alongside other health professionals for the benefit of patients and the public. As well as the NHS itself, many large and smaller organisations

We actively recruit people of all ages, backgrounds and levels of experience, including people who have worked in other sectors or who bring life experience from outside the world of work. This helps us to understand the different needs of patients,

families and carers, and to provide the best possible service every day.

To look for a job, visit www.jobs.nhs.uk Health Careers website The place to go to find out more is the Health Careers website: www. healthcareers.nhs.uk The explore roles section www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/ explore-roles has all you need to know about careers in 15 different categories – everything from paramedic, operating department practitioner and dental support worker to roles in management, IT, public health and the psychological therapies. Each role you click on has information about the training and qualifications you need and how you could progress. Most of the role pages also have videos and real-life stories from people already doing the jobs, so have a look around.

If you think you’re interested in one or two roles but are keen to find out more, use the website’s compare roles function so you can look at up to three roles at once to see the differences between each one.

The website’s career planning section www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/careerplanning has information to help you plan and develop your career, and look at I am … www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/I-am for information to match where you are now, whether that’s already working, thinking about university, at university or already working in health but thinking about a change.

Learning and development The NHS is committed to offering development and learning opportunities for all full-time and part-time staff. If you work for the NHS, no matter where you start, you’ll have access to extra training and be given every chance to progress within the organisation. You’ll receive an annual personal review and development plan to support your career progression.

The NHS Pension Scheme is one of the most generous in the UK too.

Pay bands NHS roles are covered by the pay system Agenda for Change (AfC) for all NHS staff except doctors, dentists and very senior managers. The NHS job evaluation system determines a points score, which is used to match jobs to pay bands and determine levels of basic salary. Each pay band has a number of pay points. Staff normally progress to the next pay point annually until they reach the top of the pay band.

Everyone employed under AfC is entitled to: • a standard working week of 37.5 hours • holiday entitlements of 27 days per year, plus eight general and public holidays, rising to 33 days after ten years’ service • pay enhancements to reward out-ofhours, shift and overtime working • career and pay progression based on the application of knowledge and skills • annual personal development review to support career aspirations • occupational health services • study leave for sponsored courses

Find out more at: www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/payandbenefits Other employment benefits Many benefits apply across the whole of the NHS, and local organisations may offer things like cycle to work schemes and nurseries. Many local shops, restaurants and services offer discounts to health staff too, including most gyms and leisure centres.

Health Service Discounts is an employee benefit provider for many NHS organisations and offers discounts and deals for NHS staff on shopping, holidays and financial services from well-known brands: www.healthservicediscounts.com Health and wellbeing at work The NHS is committed to helping staff to stay well, including serving healthier food, promoting physical activity, reducing stress, and providing health checks covering mental health and musculoskeletal problems.

The size and diversity of the NHS means we can offer you a range of flexible working and retirement opportunities.

Part-time roles and job-share opportunities are often available, as well as term-time only, evening and weekend positions. Many people take an extended break to look after young children or other dependants who need special care, or to study full time.

As well as advice and support for people looking after sick or elderly relatives, the NHS provides a range of childcare services for employees, including: • nursery care • after-school and breakfast clubs • holiday play schemes • emergency care

FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit www.healthcareers.nhs.uk or give us a call on 0345 60 60 655 (weekdays).

You can also follow us on: @HealthCareersUK Facebook /healthcareersuk

Age UK - Love later life Age UK is the largest national charity dedicated to helping everyone love later life.

by Claire Ball Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Age UK significant challenges and difficulties.

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ur society in the UK is ageing rapidly. The over-60s is now the fastest growing group in the population and there are now more people aged 60 and over in the UK than there are under 25. Getting older can bring many advantages and new opportunities and possibilities, but for many people it can also bring

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Age UK provides a range of services and support at national and local level, to inspire, enable and support as many older people as possible to love later life. Age UK also campaigns and speaks up for all those who have reached later life, and to protect the long-term interests of future generations.

Age UK has an ambitious vision and mission – to enable everyone to love later life. This is a huge aim, and it won’t be easy or quick to achieve. However, those of us who work for Age UK believe in this vision of a better society and future for everyone in later life, and we

work hard every day towards this goal.

Like many other voluntary sector organisations, Age UK is a large and wellestablished organisation, with a good track record of achievement and expertise in a range of different areas, including research and policy influencing, campaigning and media, marketing and fundraising, information and advice services, services development and programme management, enterprises and retail, IT, finance, human resources and learning and development.

The voluntary sector is a vibrant, dynamic and increasingly professionalized sector of the UK economy, comprising many thousands of organisations, of all different types and sizes, which employs approximately 800,000 people in 2012 (UK Civil Society Almanac 2014), and is supported by millions of volunteers. The voluntary sector can provide rich and rewarding work experience and/or career

opportunities for ambitious, skilled and motivated young people, whether they are school-leavers or graduates.

At Age UK, we are committed to valuing diversity and promoting equality and inclusion, in all areas of our culture and practice as an employer.

The work that we’ve done so far, through our Age UK being inclusive programme, includes staff engagement, training and development for managers, workforce diversity profiles and policy development. However, although we are making progress, we know that there is more that we need to do to fully recognise and embrace the benefits of building an inclusive workplace culture and leadership, which understands and utilises the full range of talent, skills and experience which can be brought to bear when we recruit, retain and develop people who reflect the full diversity of the wider society within which we operate, and which we aim to serve.

This includes our aim to engage and inspire young people of diverse identities and backgrounds, particularly those from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, to consider a future career in the voluntary sector.

As an employer, Age UK feels it is part of our social responsibility to work with and provide opportunities for people within the local community in which we are based. Age UK’s Head Office is based in Camden which, like many other inner London boroughs, is an area with high levels of deprivation. When we started our employer’s community programme in 2014 we worked mainly with young people living from the local area on small-scale programmes. Since 2014 we have extended this and now work more widely with young people across London. Age UK also has offices in Devon and in Warrington – both of which border areas of deprivation, and we hope to be able to extend our community programmes to these areas shortly.

Some of the key work that we do includes: • Enabling Enterprises – is a nationwide Social Enterprise that works with over 100 employers. Age UK is proud to be one of the first national charities to partner with them. We offer young people – generally primary school aged children – the chance to come and visit Age UK for a day, as part of a wider work programme with Enabling

For many of the young people who come to gain work experience with Age UK, this is their first taste of the world of work, and the benefits gained from their experience are very positive and encouraging. .

Enterprises. The children learn a variety of skills and for many of them it is their first introduction to the workplace and the idea of working for a charity.

We work with children from across London, many of whom live in areas classified as deprived. A significant proportion of these children are from BAME communities.

Age UK’s staff love volunteering for these events – we host four a year for up to 25 children at a time. The feedback that we get from the children and their teachers is always very positive, as often many of the teachers also have little idea what kind of job roles and opportunities are available in charities. One group of lucky 6 year-olds were among the first people in the UK to see our John Lewis Christmas advert, as they were in Age UK on the day it was launched.

• Inspire – Age UK works with around 1215 young adults each year, plus additional students drawn from other schools and colleges. Many of the young people who come to work for us may be experiencing additional challenges, sometimes with problems at home or in the family, with their own mental health, with completing their education and/or generally with lack of access to work experience and other opportunities. Age UK offers these young people roles in a variety of teams, from our Digital team, our Events Team in the Fundraising Division, our Human Resources (HR) team, Finance or Payroll, and our telephone befriending service, Call-in-Time.

For many of the young people who come to gain work experience with Age UK, this is their first taste of the world of work, and the benefits gained from their experience are very positive and encouraging. All of our colleagues in Age UK who we ask to provide management support for the young people on work experience are also responsible for providing guidance and advice about expectations of conduct and behaviour in the workplace, how they might be able to move into an area of work that they’re interested in, developing resilience at work, and just generally on what it’s like being part of the adult world of work.

Age UK’s future plans are to develop further engagement with the Government’s Apprenticeship levy, which provides us with more opportunities to create roles for young people.

For the first year, we intend to offer 5 Apprenticeships to young people in designated areas of London. Age UK has made a commitment to pay apprentices the Living Wage, which exceeds the national average, offered alongside their training qualification. This is a unique opportunity for young people to work with Age UK and we expect applications to be high.

Age UK is delighted to have the chance to offer more paid roles to young people, and to offer talented young people the opportunity to embark on interesting and fulfilling careers in the voluntary sector.

We are always open to enquiries and suggestions, so if you are interested in finding out more about opportunities available with Age UK through any of these schemes, please contact Tammy Palmer, Head of People Development Team at: E: tammy.palmer@Ageuk.org.uk For further information about job opportunities and careers in Age UK, and to watch our video about working for Age UK, please visit: www.ageuk.org.uk/about-us/jobs

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discover the difference

Your future starts here Dorchester Collection’s UK hotels – The Dorchester, Coworth Park and 45 Park Lane – are amongst the most iconic in the business. Our award-winning human resources team has developed an internal training and benefits programme, which strives to attract the best future talent.

Take your career in a new direction in 2017 and join our ACHIEVE apprenticeship programme or newly launched internship programme.

We are looking for future talent for Food & Beverage, Kitchen and Rooms Division.

Care to join us?

Please apply on careers.dorchestercollection.com We look forward to receiving your application.

Facebook dorchester collection of careers Twitter @dc_careers LinkedIn dorchester collection

ICONIC HOTELS IN ICONIC PLACES The Dorchester, London | 45 Park Lane, London | Coworth Park, Ascot | Le Meurice, Paris | Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris Le Richemond, Geneva |Hotel Principe di Savoia, Milan | Hotel Eden, Rome | The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills | Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles

Hospitality A career in hospitality can be the key to exploring new countries, learning about other cultures and meeting new people and the skills you learn are transferable.

It is much more than working in a hotel and possibly meeting and greeting celebrities. It includes the hotel industry, tourism, cruises and restaurants. There are many career paths and the opportunity for career change and progression.

You could be running a bar or restaurant, managing a hotel, maybe working as a tour guide or translator, a first class passenger host, travel agent, entertaining on a mega liner going across the Atlantic.

The industry is also supported by a wide variety of professional and business roles including communications, business development, finance, sales and marketing, public relations and IT. According to a report prepared by Oxford Economics for the British Hospitality Association, the hospitality industry is the UK’s fourth biggest industry in employment terms and has been a key player in the jobs recovery in the UK between 2010 and 2015.

Housing By choosing a career in housing your contribution goes beyond merely creating buildings. You will be providing people with a decent environment in which to live and can make a positive difference to people’s lives, their communities and often their life chances.

What’s more, a career in the housing industry can reflect positively on your self-esteem. You can be confident that your contribution really matters.

The housing industry is one of the major employment stimulators in the country.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the construction industry, including the housing sector, employed more than 230,000 people representing around 7% of the figure of all in employment in the UK as of the end of the first quarter of the year 2017. Moreover, the industry is one of the top 6 sectors in the country in terms of the number of people in employment.

Housing offers a wide range of career options including but not limited to residential involvement, development, supported housing and housing management. Job roles and titles as well as the qualifications and experiences required for these can roles differ from one organisation to another. The bottomline is: if you want to make a considerable contribution and a positive difference, then working in housing y is one of the options that you should definitely consider!

Make a difference Tackling climate change in the Arctic, working on a cure for cancer, joining a peacekeeping force in the Middle East… These are all ways a graduate may look to change the world. But there’s another way you can make the world a better place. Best of all, it’s right on your doorstep – literally. Housing.

by Chris Gillam, Assistant Director, Human Resources

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here are few industries where the decisions you take on a daily basis can affect the lives of so many people. From finding someone a home to helping them into work, what you do can have a lasting impact on someone’s life and on the lives of their family.

What’s good is that housing offers so many careers – so whatever your background, there is a role for you. You don’t have to be

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a builder or a surveyor to work in housing.

Accountants, lawyers, salespeople, writers, researchers, plumbers, project managers, care staff… all of these professions have a home in a housing association.

L&Q is one of the country’s largest housing associations and a leading residential developer. We provide a range of homes, including homes to buy or to rent on the open market, as well as shared ownership and affordable rented homes. For us, building homes isn’t the end – it’s just the beginning. We own and manage around 90,000 homes in London and the south and we invest in the communities we have created, so that they thrive.

We’re committed to our staff too, so we attract the very best people.

We are recognised as an Investor in People – we have gold status – and as a Great Place to Work and a Stonewall top 100 employer.

That means we support our people. We know they are the heart of our business and our greatest asset. Our success depends on employing the best people and getting the best from them.

We advertise our vacancies on our website, so new people can join us easily.

One of the ways we attract talent into our business is through our graduate scheme, which is aimed particularly at people looking to get into the development and construction side of our work. It offers a three-year structured learning plan, during which our graduates achieve membership of an appropriate professional body.

What’s good is that housing offers so many careers – so whatever your background, there is a role for you.

You don’t have to be a builder or a surveyor to work in housing.

Accountants, lawyers, salespeople, writers, researchers, plumbers, project managers, care staff… all of these professions have a home in a housing association.

Our graduate programme allows people to gain valuable hands-on experience and rise up through the ranks. We also take on apprentices every year in a range of disciplines, from graphic design to accountancy. All our people are offered mentoring and are encouraged to take up internal and external training too.

These are just some of the ways we support our people to build their careers with us.

Some 76% of our people say they have the opportunity for personal development and growth with us. They know that there are very high levels of internal promotions – even our Chief Executive worked his way up from a junior position in our finance department.

What’s important to us is that you don’t have to look or sound a certain way to get on at L&Q. We’ve made inclusion central to the way we work.

Back in 2011, 39% of our people managers were women. Last year, that figure stood at 49%. The percentage of managers appointed that year from a black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background was 21%. Last year it was 31%. The proportion of staff who felt comfortable enough to tell us their sexual orientation stood at 78%. Now it’s over 90%.

It is work like this that helped L&Q scoop the Diverse Company Award for Housing at the Excellence in Diversity Awards 2016. We also rank in the Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers list, at number 10.

We have worked hard to achieve results like these. Gender inequality, for example, used to be an area of concern for us. So we set about recruiting a more diverse board and supporting our female staff into more senior positions. We launched a programme offering intensive coaching and mentoring and promoted networking through our women’s group.

Plus, by introducing agile working, we have made it easier for parents to progress at work while managing their family commitments.

We have also been working to become an even better employer for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans staff.

Over the past year or so, we have made it possible for non-binary staff to register on our HR databases using the Mx title, for example. We’ve just introduced a

transitioning at work policy and we’re helping managers with tailor-made training on this issue.

As for our work to support BAME staff, we’re currently leading a project for the housing sector to help BAME managers into senior leadership positions. Due to begin later this year, the programme will be like CV gold dust, helping to boost the number of BAME people at the most senior levels.

Housing – and the housing crisis, in particular – is often at the forefront of people’s minds. Right now, we are involved in some way in around 20% of all new residential development in London, so we’re often asked to speak at public events and sector conferences. We have recently signed up not to appear on any speaking panels that aren’t diverse. We want any panels we are part of to reflect the communities we serve.

And we expect the same of our internal conferences and events. We know it’s important for people to see people like themselves in more senior positions. Role models give us people we can aspire to be like.

We also encourage diversity and inclusion in our supply chain and in the communities we serve. We expect our suppliers to have standards that match ours.

And in the wider community, we have funded projects to support different sections of society. Recently, we backed a programme to help women to take part in local democracy and business. Last year, with Stonewall and ten London football clubs, we helped tackle homophobia by training the thousands of young people taking part in our summer holiday activities. Each one also got a pair of rainbow shoelaces to take away.

We know that a more diverse workforce brings business benefits, in terms of higher morale and productivity, increased retention rates and lower recruitment costs. It’s a win-win.

So if you’re starting out in your career and have been daydreaming about stopping deforestation in the Amazon, think again.

Make a difference closer to home. Make a difference in housing.

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Insurance The insurance industry plays a very important role in improving people’s security and allowing businesses to function safely and effectively. The positive impact of this industry is not limited to our own individual security as it also enables businesses to operate more freely. Without the back up from insurance, people would not be able to study, travel or even go out for dinner.

This sector offers a huge variety of roles including sales, data analysis and beyond to graduates and nongraduates. The UK insurance industry is one of the most influential and important parts of the UK economy.

According to the Association of British Insurers, The sector employs more than 300,000 people in the UK not to mention that the City of London is in the heart of international insurance and reinsurance.

Legal & General At Legal & General, how we do business is just as important as financial success. Our business principles reflect that we make sure everything we do is fair and transparent and shows economic and social value for the future.

Paul Stanworth CEO Legal & General Capital

O

ne of our principles is Inclusion.

We believe that we make better business decisions when a range of people with different experiences, backgrounds and ways of thinking are involved. Inclusion for us means a great place to work that feels vibrant, where all contributions are valued and everyone, no matter what their background or ethnicity, can reach their full potential.

Growing up in Zimbabwe in the 1970s, I saw how prejudice, inequality and a lack of diversity can affect people’s lives.

The experience of my childhood has meant that in my business career I have always sought out diversity and tried to

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build diverse teams - that’s why I am the executive sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion for the Legal & General Group.

Like many Financial Services businesses in the UK, we haven’t got it right yet. BAME employees are still under-represented in the UK workplace, particularly in senior roles, and this is true of Legal & General but we are working hard to change that.

Sometimes at work we often avoid talking about politics, religion or ethnicity – we aren’t sure what to say or whether we’ll offend someone. You can’t change something if

you don’t talk about it. That’s why we are starting a conversation about ethnicity and inclusion by encouraging employees from all sorts of different backgrounds to join focus groups in each of our main offices to tell us what they think and what more we could be doing to reach our goal of being truly inclusive.

So join us and be part of the conversation.You’ll have the opportunity to build a great career with a successful company and to have your say on inclusion and what matters to you in the workplace.

www.careers.legalandgeneralgroup.com www.careers.lgim.com linkedin.com/company/legal-&-general/notifications twitter.com/landg_careers twitter.com/lgim facebook.com/legalandgeneral

Legal If you have a strong sense of what’s right and wrong and an interest in helping people seek justice then Law might be the profession for you. It is not about arguing and being opinionated. Many lawyers have studied humanities subjects such as History, and English at A ‘level.

Law requires an interest in reading and research, but you must also be able to listen, understand and apply reasoning.

You might never even set foot in a court.

A career in the legal sector will give you an interesting insight into society, how and why it is regulated and an understanding how human being relate to each other.

There are a variety of roles but the main professional roles are as Solicitors and Barristers. These require post

degree study and each have separate requirements for qualification. The jobs may also be different. You can also consider qualifying as a Legal Executive as a profession or as part of the route to becoming a Solicitor. Ultimately you might decide to become a Judge.

Lawyers work in the public and private sector as well as industry. There are support roles such as IT, secretarial, human resources, business development, compliance and project management.

Paralegals are also carrying out a greater fee earning role.

As a lawyer, you have a great amount of flexibility. You can work independently, have your own firm or work in a larger organisation with others.

Interview with

Segun Osuntokun Partner and Ethnicity & Social Inclusion Champion at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP Please tell us what it is like to work at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP? I have been at BLP since 2008. I was attracted to BLP for many reasons, including the strategy of the firm; the reputation of its Litigation and Corporate Risk practice; and the chance to play a lead role in the firm’s Africa practice. One of the most important factors however was the firm’s culture.

BLP was (and is) a welcoming firm that prided itself on and demonstrated genuine collegiality and a down-to-earth ethos where everyone is approachable and encouraged to be themselves. All of these aspects of the firm’s culture very much remain in place today. We encourage individuality and difference whilst ensuring that everyone works well together. Through teamwork, cooperation and collaboration we achieve so much more.

Do you think the legal industry is inclusive of BAME students, and what steps could the industry take to make it more so?

According to the Law Society sponsored Diversity League Table the proportion of black associates has remained static in the last three years at just 1.4%. Other ethnicities fare more favourably, but overall progress is very slow.

It is pleasing to see that a good number of law firms and chambers realise that

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the diversity of the legal profession needs to improve. There is now a much more concerted focus on diversity and that is what is needed. From BLP’s perspective, the key to embracing diversity is to address the culture of the firm; an inclusive culture drives diversity not the other way round.

What steps are taken to make BAME students seeking employment feel welcomed at your firm?

Alongside four other diversity and inclusion task-groups, BLP has a Social Inclusion and Ethnicity task-group, which I lead jointly alongside another partner. The Social Inclusion and Ethnicity group comprises more than 60 employees who collectively wanted to play a part in addressing the issue of underrepresentation in the legal profession of ethnic minorities and those who are socially disadvantaged.

One of our recent initiatives was an event called “Race for Change” which we hosted twice last year. More than 200 black students and graduates came to BLP for the day to get a flavour of what a career in law could look like for them. We have already seen a dramatic increase in training contract applications from black individuals as a result of these events. We won “Best Diversity Initiative” at The Lawyer Business Leadership Awards for this event in September 2016.

The event will be hosted again in November 2017. Please do contact us if you would like more details about this year’s event.

The attendance alone at this event demonstrates that there is a real need for businesses to reach out to black and other ethnic minority individuals and to actively encourage applications from a talent pool we are currently missing out on.

We hope that with this event and others in the pipeline, we will address and, eventually help redress the current imbalance in black representation in the legal profession by openly airing the issues and inspiring a new generation of black lawyers.

Why do you feel a diverse workforce is preferable?

It goes without saying, of course, that as a responsible business it is right to ensure we provide equality of opportunity to all. Put simply, BLP is an organisation that is only as good as its people. We want the best talent from the broadest base to be attracted to, and to stay at BLP.

It is pleasing to see that a good number of law firms and chambers realise that the diversity of the legal profession needs to improve.

Are there any networking opportunities for employees to promote diversity and inclusion from within the firm?

Our Inclusivity Strategy is about our people, as such our people are critical to informing and shaping how we take our strategy forward. All employees are encouraged to join one or more of our Inclusivity task-groups. Alongside our Social Inclusion and Ethnicity task-group we have the following groups: Culture; Family; Gender Representation and; LGBT, as well as a Cancer Support, Disability and Parents’ networks.

Each of the groups or networks meet regularly to discuss relevant issues and to devise a variety of events, initiatives and programmes that drive that area of the Inclusivity Strategy forwards.

Does the firm have any future plans in place to further promote diversity and inclusion?

We take great pride in our diversity and inclusion agenda and have a clearly defined Inclusivity Strategy published on our website alongside our diversity statistics.

Our current Inclusivity Strategy has been in place since June 2015, during which time we have made some good progress not only winning the award mentioned above, but others too, including the Diversity and Inclusivity Team of the Year (enei

awards, 2016). In addition we leapt 226 places up the Stonewall LGBT* inclusive workplaces index in the last two years and now stand at 8th in the rankings out of over 430 employers.

We are determined to build on this strong foundation to keep on improving.

Our goal is to ensure that we select our talent from the widest pool of people, increase access to the legal profession, and diversify the mix at BLP. We are wholly committed to promoting an inclusive and inspirational working environment for our employees, who are our most important asset. Our desire is to enable our people to make the most of their particular skills, qualities and points of difference.

What would you say to a BAME student considering applying to your firm?

Don’t see your race as an obstacle to achievement, have confidence in your own abilities and be yourself. Your individuality and unique experiences and insights are valuable assets, which you should aim to convert into a career in the legal profession.

We want diverse candidates to join BLP. If you want it go for it, we would very much welcome hearing from you.

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Interview with

Natalie Hearn Project Manager, Matrix Chambers

Can you please tell us more about Matrix Chambers?

Matrix is a barristers’ chambers with offices in both London and Geneva. We were established in 2000 and wanted to achieve a different working model from the traditional English chambers. Our mission statement is “to be an excellent, innovative provider of legal services domestically and internationally.” Our set of 17 core values are instrumental in achieving our mission statement and our day-to-day work. We have a particular commitment to valuing diversity and the promotion of equality of opportunity in all aspects. We engage in a number of diversity and inclusion projects to promote these values within Matrix, at the Bar and wider society. We were ranked first in the BSN UK Diversity Legal Table and won the Retention: Talent Management Award in 2014. We are founding members of FreeBar, the LGBT+ network for the Bar, and one of a handful of chambers signed up to the Stonewall Diversity Champion Programme and we are ranked in their Workplace Equality Index. In March 2017, we were awarded Silver in the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index, designed to celebrate the good work employers are doing to promote and support positive mental health. This is in addition to a number of other programmes we engage in for gender equality,

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disability equality and working with young aspiring lawyers from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented at the Bar. How can applicants from black and minority ethnic backgrounds find out more about Matrix Chambers?

There is a wealth of information about us on our website, particularly in the CSR and Recruitment sections. We publish as much information as we can on our pupillage (the traditional name for training to become a barrister; we call it traineeship) process. This includes the criteria we assess by and the weighting of these factors.

A brochure regarding our traineeship is also available on our website. Anyone interested in finding out more can attend one of our Diversity Open Days, full details of which are published on our website each year.

How do Matrix Chambers promote gender equality?

Matrix are involved in promoting gender equality by having a number of high profile female barristers who volunteer their time to speak at events and make themselves visible to aspiring barristers.

We ensure that a diverse range of people represent us at careers fairs, student open days (including a dedicated diversity open

day) and on our interviewing panels. We have organised and hosted events on wellbeing in the workplace for women, women-specific legal and political issues, and our members regularly appear in cases that challenge discriminatory rules and represent vulnerable groups.

Can you tell us about Matrix Chambers’ involvement with the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index?

Matrix were one of the first legal organisation – and only barristers’ chambers – to sign up to the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index, a benchmarking assessment by Mind that considers what you do to support mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

We were assessed through a staff survey and an evidence based questionnaire.

In March 2017, we were one of 5 organisations to be awarded the Silver level. It is a fantastic achievement and we are delighted to have been involved at such an early stage of the Index.

Six reasons our trainees chose Norton Rose Fulbright The impressive work.

“Our industry focus means that there is plenty of high quality work.

You can get involved in some huge deals here.”

For me, it was the practice’s ambitions.

“We’re growing and ambitious, and we continue to establish ourselves at the top of the league tables.”

I knew I would go places here.

“We don’t just offer secondments – we actively encourage all trainees to undertake one.”

I could see this was a place I could grow.

“I wanted challenging work and a steep learning curve.

I get that here, in an environment where those around me look to help me improve.”

The international focus.

“It’s more than a list of offices - there is a real emphasis on working with colleagues and clients in different jurisdictions. Pick somewhere in the world, and we’ve probably got an office there.”

The culture felt right.

“It’s collegiate, and open to individuality. There’s an understanding here that people need to feel free to explore opportunities outside of their immediate role.”

We know that choosing the right legal practice is a big decision.

So we thought we would tell you what persuaded our trainees to come here.

If you join us, we’ll keep on supporting you to choose wisely throughout your career.

nortonrosefulbrightgraduates.com

Progress with purpose

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Making sure those who enter the profession meet the right standard From 2020, how solicitors qualify in England and Wales will be changing. Would-be solicitors will need to take an independent assessment called the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

Julie Brannan Director of Education, Solicitors Regulation Authority

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he SQE will replace the current system for qualifying. At the moment there are different ways to qualify, and universities each set and mark their own exams. The lack of consistency can undermine public confidence. Almost four out of five members of the public say they would have more confidence in solicitors if they passed the same final examination.

We want anyone employing or using a solicitor to know that they all meet the same high standards when entering the profession.

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HOW SOLICITORS WILL QUALIFY IN THE FUTURE

There is not one linear route to qualification.

You can tailor the order of your learning to your circumstances SOLICITORS WILL HAVE TO: Pass stages 1 and 2 of the SQE - the first focuses on legal knowledge and the second on practical legal skills.

Have a degree (in any subject) or equivalent.

Complete two years of work experience.

Pass the character and suitability requirements.

If you have already started a Qualifying Law Degree, or Graduate Diploma in Law by the time the SQE comes in, you will be able to choose whether or not to continue towards becoming a solicitor on their existing route, or to qualify via the SQE.

OPENING ACCESS TO THE PROFESSION The SQE should help widen access to the profession. Different routes to qualification, such as apprenticeships, are welcome in helping attract the best candidates from all backgrounds into the profession. But different routes can only work if there is a rigorous, independent check to make sure everyone meets the same high standard. An independent assessment will enhance confidence in the various routes into the profession, and help challenge the current perception that some routes are more valid than others.

It will also address the training contract bottleneck. Would-be solicitors can end up stranded, after they have paid up to ÂŁ15,000 for the Legal Practice Course (LPC) because they cannot find a training contract. This can put people off trying to enter the profession in the first place.

The SQE structure will change that by allowing a more flexible approach to work experience, and getting rid of that LPC gamble.

It will also increase transparency. There will be clear information on who has met the required standard and how they performed.

This will help law firms recruit the best talent. It will also help the best education providers show just how good they are, as they will be able to demonstrate how effectively they are training their students.

And finally it will help would-be solicitors make choices about where they want to train, and give candidates, from all backgrounds, a fair opportunity to qualify.

KEY MILESTONES

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Diversity Challenges at the Bar for England and Wales

by Sam Mercer, The Bar Council’s Head of Policy, Equality & Diversity and CSR

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t the risk of bringing up BREXIT, this January’s Article 50 decision put the profile of the Supreme Court (very white and very male) squarely in the public eye. Lord Neuberger and the Lord Chancellor’s recent comments on the need to improve the diversity of the Supreme Court perhaps reflect the discomfort felt at the highest levels (in both the Judiciary and Government) on a lack of progress with respect to diversity in the most senior ranks of the Judiciary.

The good news is that the next few months present a unique opportunity to address this, as the JAC recruits three new Supreme Court judges.

By the way, ‘3’ is a magic number in diversity; if you want to make a difference on any ‘body’ or board you need a minimum of three members with different backgrounds to really feel the benefit of more diverse thinking.

The Bar Council has a key role to play here, with the profession a very significant talent pipeline for those seeking judicial office. But irrespective of this, we have long recognised the need to reflect the community we serve and the need to be constantly vigilant over diversity at the Bar and respond when it is under threat.

The Bar Council (the representative body for barristers in England and Wales) monitors the profession annually, tracking movements and identifying trends. We look at those entering the profession as well as the profile of barristers at key stages in their professional lives.

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What We Measure The Bar Council (via the BSB) is the only organisation to collect aggregated data on the nearly 16,000 barristers practising at the English and Welsh Bar. We record the profile of barristers across a number of protected characteristics including age, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion & belief and sexual orientation. We also track marital/civil partnership status, caring responsibility and socioeconomic status, where private vs. state funded secondary education is used as a proxy for social mobility.

Recording these numbers enable us to predict the future shape of our profession and better understand the experience of women, ethnic minorities, barristers with a disability and those from a lower socioeconomic background. The information generated tells us what is happening to colleagues across the Bar in a period of immense change, as the profession responds to both the deregulation of legal services and significant cuts to government spending on legal aid.

2014/15

Our statistics have become an increasingly important indicator of pressure on the profession.

A Portrait of The Bar In 2015 (2016 figures are due soon) there were 15,915 practising barristers and 421 pupils in England and Wales. Of those practising 80.23% were self-employed , 35.6% were women and 11.9% identified as Black Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) .

Women

BAME

Called

48.7%

28.8%

Pupillage

50.7%

20.8%

Practising Barristers

35.6%

11.9%

QC

13.1%

6.3%

Source: https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/media-centre/research-and-statistics/statistics/

Getting in, Staying in and Getting on Looking at the numbers our challenges are pretty clear… access, retention and progression; our access challenge is social mobility, our retention challenge is women and our progression challenge is predominantly both women and ethnic minorities.

Access (or ‘getting in’) From a gender and ethnicity perspective ‘access’ to the profession is our good news story. There has gender equality at Call to the Bar (50:50 on intake) since 2000 and there is no evidence that women are under-represented in the attainment of pupillage.

We’ve also made significant progress in the ethnic diversity of First Six pupils (up from 13% in 2010/11 to 20.8% in 2015) .

Social mobility is more problematic.

We currently use the fairly rough proxy of secondary school education (private versus state funded) as an indicator of socioeconomic background; approximately half the Bar are currently educated in state schools . But whilst we are able to demonstrate school is not a determinant of pupillage, it remains a determinant of university attended, with privately educated pupils more likely to attend the most academically selective

universities (the traditional recruiting ground for the Bar).

The advantage already enjoyed by those who attend universities such as Oxford or Cambridge , is exacerbated by a fall in the number of pupillages on offer as the Bar reacts to economic pressures. As a result chambers appear to be adopting risk averse recruitment practices, selecting those candidates with only the highest academic qualifications, from the more traditional universities. This coupled with the high costs of training (the BPTC costs up to £19K) has an adverse impact on social mobility at the Bar with many barristers from non-traditional backgrounds convinced that were they to apply today, a career at the Bar would no longer be an option.

The Bar Council is attempting to address social mobility by robustly focusing on tackling the three key barriers to access ‘Cash, Confidence and Contact’. We are lobbying hard for reform of the BPTC (to reduce costs) and are working to ensure high achieving students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have access to information (e.g. on scholarships for training available) and opportunities to gain experience and confidence through shadowing barristers. Further, we are providing more tailored advice and support by brokering e-mentoring between students and members of the profession at key decision making points (such as university selection) in a student’s academic career.

Retention (or ‘Staying in’) The Bar continues to lose significant numbers of women circa 8-12 years’ Call (around the time they are likely to have a family).

Research consistently indicates barristers struggle to balance family life with selfemployed practice and this particularly affects women. This is aggravated by current financial pressure on those publically funded areas of the Bar where women (and ethnic minorities) tend to practice (crime, family and immigration), which are all at the mercy of public funding cuts. Both the amount of work available, and fees for this type of work are falling making self-employed practise unsustainable, particularly for those who are working part time and/or having to meet child care costs.

Addressing this requires fundamental structural and cultural change. And with the pressure on the publically funded Bar, one solution may well include encouraging women into more lucrative practice areas such as the Commercial and Chancery Bars.

In these areas practitioners can generate higher earnings, and may have less court based work (allowing greater flexibility in working practices).

In addition, we need to better support chambers in implementing effective working practices with respect to maternity policy (including Shared Parental Leave), flexible working, fairer work allocation and managing career breaks.

In 2015, Bar Council completed research on women’s experience of the profession (Snapshot) Recommendations (currently being implemented) included: • Encouraging and facilitating mentoring of junior women by senior women • Facilitating access to business advice/coaching on developing a sustainable practice better able to withstand having a family.

• Establishing more senior and more visible female role models.

• Promoting women’s marketing networks for barristers • Creating support networks of working parents at the Bar as a source of advice and guidance around return to work, childcare, flexible working etc.; and (ii) of women at the Bar for other women in the profession.

• Extending the Bar Nursery to the circuits and explore what other direct and flexible childcare provision • Encouraging a better gender balance on key decision-making committees within chambers to ensure chambers empower women members in decision-making and do not develop policies that disadvantage women.

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OPTIONAL: Disability at the Bar is another challenge. Disclosure is low where 69% of the profession do not disclose their disability status and just 1.5% of the Bar currently disclose a disability . The lack of information on disability makes it difficult to track and understand the experiences of barristers with a disability and how many sustain a long term career at the Bar. Lack of data is not a problem easily solved. We know from feedback across the profession that there is a perception reporting any type of disability (particularly mental health and other hidden disabilities) can have a negative effect on a barrister’s career. This suggests data challenges can only be resolved by a twin track approach which both reassures the Bar over the confidentiality of disability reporting, and at the same time delivers a long term education programme which seeks to normalise disability.

Progression (or ‘Getting on’) Poor retention of women inevitably impacts on their progression, as the Bar becomes increasingly male with experience. Women make up just 12.4% of QCs and 24.3% of the Judiciary.

For BAME barristers the challenges are

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perhaps different, and we continue to try to establish and challenge barriers to progression, which are perhaps inevitably likely institutional bias and poorer quality briefing (more high profile cases going to less diverse magic circle sets).

Although year on year the statistics are improving, the loss of talented women barristers around 12 years’ Call and the precarious practices that some women and BAME barristers now find themselves in, makes it difficult to ensure those appointing QCs and judges have a representative pool from which to draw candidates.

For those women who do remain in the profession balancing child care responsibilities makes securing the ‘right’ experience for more senior roles difficult.

Traditionally, more complex and demanding cases (that provide the rich experience and profile required for career progression) have been handed to male colleagues, perceived to have more time, less child care responsibility and a greater ability to travel.

In addition to our work on improving retention, the Bar Council also runs information events explaining the appointment process and encouraging

women, BAME and other under-represented groups of candidates to apply. We have also recently introduced a mentoring service to support judicial and silk applications and continue to advise the Queen’s Counsel Appointments (QCA) and Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) on inclusion. We are also currently exploring other more radical positive action initiatives to help address under-representation in the judiciary.

Conclusion At the moment our story feels one step forward, two steps back. One step forward… we’ve made progress, at least in access for women and BAME barristers. Two steps back… until we can reduce the loss of women, BAME and others mid-career, we will not only fail to deliver a truly representative Bar, but also will fail to deliver a truly representative judiciary.

Attitudes are changing as the profession embraces new and fairer recruitment and working practices; but the Bar in England and Wales faces unprecedented external challenges which may well, if current trends continue, reverse any diversity gains we have made over the last decade.

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE BAR • Barristers in England and Wales are specialist advocates and advisers who provide expert legal services when representing their lay and professional clients in courts and other legal contexts.

• Barristers usually specialise in particular areas of the law (of which there are more than 90 different traditional classifications). A barrister can practise in any one or more of these areas throughout the life of their career. Criminal law is the most common area of practice (in 2012, 25.1% of barristers engaged primarily in this area).

• Practising barristers are normally classified into one of two categories: self-employed or employed.

• Barristers at both the self-employed and employed Bar can apply to be appointed Queen’s Counsel (QC). QCs are considered experts in their field, generally with a minimum of 15 years’ practice. When a barrister is appointed as a QC this is known informally as ‘taking silk’ due to their entitlement to wear black silk gowns instead of standard court dress.

• The Publicly Funded Bar comprises barristers whose services are paid for by the State.

About the Bar Council and our Equality and Diversity Work The Bar Council is the professional body and the Approved Regulator for all barristers in England and Wales. It represents and, through the independent Bar Standards Board (BSB), regulates over 15,000 barristers in self-employed and employed practice. Its principal objectives are to ensure access to justice on terms that are fair to the public and practitioners; to represent the Bar as a modern and forward-looking profession which seeks to maintain and improve the quality and standard of high quality specialist advocacy and advisory services to all clients, based upon the highest standards of ethics, equality and diversity; and to work for the efficient and costeffective administration of justice.

The Bar Council’s Equality, Diversity & Social Mobility Committee (EDSM) works to create a profession of all, and for all. We seek to improve access to the profession, and the retention and progression of barristers so that background is no barrier to a career at the Bar.

KEY STAGES IN BECOMING A BARRISTER • The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) is the vocational stage in training for the Bar (undertaken after completion of an under-graduate degree). The BPTC lasts for 30 weeks for full-time students.

• Pupillage is compulsory training that must be completed before a member of the Bar is authorised to practice in their own right. Generally this is an overall period of 12 months split into two six month periods referred to as First Six and Second Six. Pupillage is spent either in a barristers’ chambers or in another Approved Training Organisation.

• Called to the Bar’ is the stage at which a barrister is formally recognised to have completed the vocational or BPTC stage of training when a barrister is called to the Bar by their Inn of Court.

Sam Mercer is Head of Policy: Equality and Diversity &CSR at the Bar Council SMercer@ BarCouncil.org.uk

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A career in Treasury

by Caroline Stockmann Chief Executive, Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT)

T

raditionally, treasury has been seen as a profession which is not greatly diverse. As has been the case in many business and professions, the treasury world of the U.K has been male-dominated with very little ethnic diversity - but that is all changing. I believe that globalisation and technology are allowing businesses to be more and more inclusive, as distance becomes less of an issue and global ‘virtual’ teams are built. And once really diverse teams become the norm, then the battle is won for everyone, wherever they are geographically (well, that’s the dream!)

The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) supports diversity and inclusion, and encourages its members and stakeholders to appreciate not only the business case behind building diverse teams (which outperform all others, according to research by Professor Joe DiStefano of IMD) – but also the view that it’s just right. It also provides for a far more interesting work environment, when people from different backgrounds and perspectives come together!

I joined the ACT as Chief Executive at the beginning of February, and in both my first staff talk and my first piece for our publication, The Treasurer, I focused on the subject of diversity and inclusion. I have always believed in fairness, and throughout my career I have been lucky enough to be able to work in and create diverse teams, and to celebrate diversity in all its forms.

In my last role at the British Council I was called an ‘early adopter’ of diversity and

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inclusion – but I did often wonder what was ‘early’ about it, as surely a belief in equity and fairness has existed for a very long time, despite all the inequality we still see in the world? In any case, I am very pleased that the ACT shares my values, and I will be looking to see how we can be even more encouraging of diversity and inclusion in the future.

The ACT has members and students in 90 countries, from 90 different nationalities, which is wonderful. About 30% of our members are female, but at student level it is nearer 40%.

We would like to make it 50/50 in the future!

We don’t have stats on ethnic diversity other than nationalities (ethnic origins of our UK membership, for instance), but it is an area where I believe we need more.

One of the things the ACT does to encourage inclusion is its bursary programme. Just over ten years ago, the ACT Education Trust launched a bursary scheme which provides financial support to students in developing countries, who are not in a position to fund their own studies. Over 50 students have now completed an ACT qualification via this scheme. A recipient of a bursary to study our Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals (CertTF), who carried out her studies at home in Botswana told us that “Distance proved to be not a barrier as I felt like I was actually in the UK studying for this

course and studying online was wonderful.

I studied at my own times, had time to talk to teachers whenever I got queries and I actually wrote the exam at the comfort of my own home.” By using technology, exams are carried out with remote invigilation, and learning is similarly remote, but clearly does not feel so to most students.

then this helps their employers work more efficiently, effectively and ethically, which in turn positively impacts regions and economies.

The individual builds their confidence, and doors are opened for career progression.

A senior treasury person in a Malawi bank, and one of our past bursary students, Another recipient of a bursary, a Money describes her experience as follows: “I was Markets dealer at a bank in Ghana who also successfully completed CertTF, says the very fortunate to have been among the first students to have studied with ACT under whole application process ran smoothly, “It was a nice experience applying for bursary – the new syllabus, a new testing system, a a straight-forward process which I completed new mentorship service and a new career almost immediately.” We try hard to remove hub all of which was available as part of unnecessary barriers, whilst maintaining the the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals course. The course content itself was a very highest standards in terms of our learning programmes. We want people to be rightly rich, practical and well-structured and it has equipped me with tools to apply in my dayproud when they achieve success, and to-day operations, as well as in providing me we also want our qualifications to mean with a good foundation to support my future something to future employers. We are career aspirations. the only chartered treasury body, and that brings with it great responsibility – including With the ever changing financial and the mandate that we should operate in the technological landscape, I found this course public interest. If we support students in to be relevant to me as a treasury professional building their professional competency, working in a developing country, particularly with regard to developing advanced risk management tools to manage financial, business and operational risks that are very common in developing countries. I also enjoyed participating in the discussion forums and reading the many articles on global treasury on the ACT learning Academy website. All in all, I would recommend this course to anyone who is serious about developing their capabilities in treasury and finance and rising above the crowd.”

Our bursary student pass rate for CertTF is 100%, and 86% of these students go on to study the higher-level Certificate in Treasury.

One of the other ways we are trying to bring further change is through another programme we run which is aimed at developing individual treasury professionals, and supporting diversity: our mentoring programme.

Our Match Me service matches members and students via an online platform, based on areas of interest or common experience.

Resources and tools are available, with a focus on development of the ‘softer skills’ – business and behavioural – needed to succeed in life. More experienced mentors will advise and provide a listening ear, to help the mentee develop motivation, leadership, influencing, networking and handling conflict skills, and indeed the ability to work effectively with others. Going forward we hope this service will provide additional support for those in a minority.

We provide a wide range of learning products and qualifications, from treasury fundamentals and other certifications for those newer to treasury, to undergraduate and post-graduate level qualifications. Often the higher level programmes are entered after an individual has completed an accountancy qualification, and they want to specialise in treasury.

Because we have expanded our offering significantly, responding to market needs, we have made treasury more accessible for people as a profession. We try to communicate widely the importance of the treasury function and skillset, as we want to attract a diverse range of people to the profession, and many people may not really know what treasury is about.

But once people understand the implications of a poor decision around cash management or investment, for in stance, they are often ‘caught’ and want to learn more.

Treasury people, in my experience, are a friendly and passionate bunch, and I was delighted to hear from a member of an ethnic minority that they were made to feel so welcome when they attended one of our conferences, they then decided to launch into serious treasury studies. They were given time and individual attention and respect from experienced treasurers, which left a lasting impression and was instrumental in their career and study decisions thereafter.

My advice to anyone interested in exploring a career in treasury? Either come on one of our one-day introductory courses, or register for one of our initial certificates in treasury. Once you have had a taste of it, you might just find the heady world of treasury is for you!

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Educating teachers for over 100 years

1st in the North West for Education (Guardian University Guide 2017) Various routes into teaching: BA (Hons) Primary with QTS BA (Hons) Primary with Mathematics with QTS BSc Secondary Mathematics with QTS PGCE Primary with QTS (Early Years specialism available) PGCE Secondary with QTS (over 20 subject specialisms available) Faculty of Education Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Campus Brooks building 53 Bonsall Street Manchester M15 6GX

mmu.ac.uk/education mmu.ac.uk/education

Teaching Everyone remembers a great teacher that inspired them to achieve, showed them the joy of a particular subject, or made lessons fun. If you want to make a difference, enjoy working with children, have genuine desire to bring out the best in other people and you are inspired by the creativity of the classroom, then you should consider a career in teaching.

Most commonly, jobs in education are related to teaching, training and assessing in a school and there is a demand for graduates in teaching, with shortages in the subject areas of Maths and Science.

However, education also occurs outside of the traditional school environment, for example, colleges and universities, adult and community learning, the voluntary sector and even work-based learning.

The importance of diversity in the workplace Mark Harrison - Diversity and Inclusion Manager - SOAS University of London

I

t really shouldn’t be an argument that still has to be made; the benefits of ensuring diversity in the workplace are many, varied and wellknown. Many employers, particularly in the private sector, recognise that a diverse workforce is more attractive to recruits, more innovative, more productive and a more rewarding place to work.

Firstly, all organisations should aspire to be employers of choice for all members of the community. The wider the recruitment ‘net’ the more likely you are to find those exceptional candidates. That’s just common sense. Society is increasingly diverse and employers ignore this at their peril. It is also logical that we see the best candidates from historically disadvantaged communities often seek out employers with overt commitments to diversity.

A diverse workforce also brings different talents, skills and experiences that will be of benefit to the employer and its performance. It is worth noting that people learn from each other, so individual employees directly benefit from working with people from different

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backgrounds – and that’s not just an employment issue – that’s about life experience.

Diversity in the workforce also enhances understanding of the needs of all service users/clients/stakeholders – call them what you will. In an ever-shrinking globe, international perspectives are of significant benefit to employers.

Different views bring greater creativity and problem solving and an increased organisational facility to challenge negative ‘group-think’. So enhanced innovation is yet another benefit of a diverse workforce.

Furthermore, staff who feel valued for their contribution – rather than judged on their personal backgrounds – repay that respect with discretionary commitment. Research by very different organisations such as Stonewall and Deloitte has demonstrated that this extra effort can amount to 30% extra productivity. Feeling included and appreciated also increases loyalty and feeling of belonging, so these valued employees will want to stay with their organisations and repay this respect. Can there be an employer that wouldn’t welcome that?

It can also be argued that adopting a commitment to diversity is essentially about promoting a meritocratic approach that has to be good for employers. So perhaps it should not come as a surprise that the most successful corporations are those based in the most diverse and tolerant parts of the world - nods towards Silicon Valley.

Ensuring diversity isn’t the end of the story of course. We must also ensure that workplace environments are inclusive – this means ensuring equity in career development so that staff in most senior roles reflect society. This will deliver the essential role models that help to show the way for more junior employees.

But despite all these evident benefits, we still have barriers and disadvantage.

A recent report by the BBC (March 2017) confirmed that London’s black male graduates are less likely to get jobs. Its research demonstrated that Black male graduates in London are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts, stating that in 2016 there was an unemployment rate of 18% for black male graduates aged 16 to 24 in London.

Different views bring greater creativity and problem solving and an increased organisational facility to challenge negative ‘group-think’.

This was compared to the 10% rate for their white counterparts. As part of their research, the BBC contacted 50 of London’s 500 top graduate employers across the banking, accounting, medical, legal and retail sectors. Those 11 organisations recruited 1,803 graduates in 2016. Of those, only 30 were black men.

And we know that disadvantage is evident in the higher education sector.

The Runnymede Trust report ‘Aiming Higher’ (2015) found persistent gaps in the recruitment, retention and attainment of students – particularly in respect of ethnicity. According to the Equality Challenge Unit, the gap percentage of BME students who obtain a first/upper second degree remains at around 15%.

The Trust also highlighted the fact that there were only (at that time) 15 black academics in the British university system perform senior management roles. This has not significantly changed.

At SOAS we are committed to being an employer of choice for all, recruiting and retaining the best employees from all sections of society. We recognise that motivated

staff who feel valued and respected for their contributions, rather than judged on their characteristics, will help us deliver the best teaching and support to our students.

for fractional teachers and we will continue to require managers involved in the process to attend recruitment and selection training.

In some respects, we are doing better than some other institutions in the sector. We have among the highest proportion of BME academics in Professorial roles at 30% compared to 8% in the wider sector. We are also proud of the fact that that many of our most senior roles are occupied by women. This includes our President, Director, a Pro-Director, Registrar and the Head of our Doctoral School.

We believe this helps us embed a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Recognising the importance of progress and transparency in this key area, so we continue to conduct regular reviews of our pay and reward framework and take renewed and concerted action to address gaps in respect of gender, race and disability.

Nevertheless, we recognise that there is still progress to be made and will take further action to embed an inclusive and positive workforce culture that allows all our staff to fulfil their potential. In order to achieve this, senior colleagues in our Human Resources Team have successfully worked with staff union representatives on our Model Equality and Diversity Employer (MEDE) group to make progress on our equality initiatives.

We collect comprehensive employee data and use relevant demographic comparators to identify and address any barriers in our internal procedures, such as recruitment and staff development. Our reporting includes progress on narrowing evident pay gaps and the recruitment of underrepresented groups to senior levels.

We have, for example, adopted a specific KPI to increase the numbers of BME staff in our senior academic and professional roles.

We have introduced mandatory equality and diversity training for all new staff and for managers involved in the recruitment process and have also promote unconscious bias training. These training sessions help to equip staff with the knowledge and skills to embed inclusive practices in their work and spheres of influence. We have also embedded Equality Impact Assessments into our employee policy reviews to ensure that there are no unintended barriers to any groups of staff.

This includes a comprehensive review of our recruitment practices to ensure that there are no barriers to any specific groups or individuals at any stage of our internal practices. As part of this drive, we will consider new systems that will facilitate the monitoring of the recruitment process

We are also reviewing employment practices that support staff including our provision of reasonable adjustments to ensure an inclusive working environment for all, and our policy on supporting employees with parental or caring responsibilities.

The internal development of staff will be a priority to enhance diversity of workforce, so we continue to promote our successful opportunities for professional development.

We review our practices and assessment of research work to address the imbalances in take-up of research opportunities and will examine our record on the retention of staff in order to identify any improvements we can make to our performance as an equal opportunity employer, making use of exit surveys and feedback.

In addition to our successful management development programmes, we are also refreshing our equality, diversity and inclusion training options to ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) and understand the benefits of a commitment to this agenda.

Lastly, we continue to work with expert external agencies and embed actions towards appropriate accreditation that we can learn from and celebrate.

At SOAS we remain committed to removing the obstacles people may face to finding fulfilling employment. And while we have made some progress on inclusion, it is clear that there is much work still to be done.

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Educating the leaders of tomorrow No one, no matter their colour, class, faith, sexual orientation or background should be put off from applying to a Russell Group university.

by Sarah Stevens, Russell Group Head of Policy

R

ussell Group universities are the 24 worldleading research-intensive universities in the UK. They thrive on the success of their student body and actively encourage everyone with ability – no matter what their background – to apply.

Embracing diversity is incredibly important to them and enriches life on their campuses immeasurably. Our universities are inclusive and over time the student populations have become increasingly diverse.

More than three quarters of young students at Russell Group universities in 2015 were from state schools and colleges.

Between 2010 and 2016, the number of Black students starting courses at our universities rose by 78%, the number of Asian students rose by 34% and the number of mixed ethnicity students rose by 52%.

This is a positive sign, but we know much more needs to be done.

That is why this is the year Russell Group universities will spend hundreds of millions to help young people get into university.

They partner with schools and run programmes to encourage successful applications from anyone with the ability to attend.

They run summer schools, subject taster sessions, campus visits, mentoring and will often help with your application.

These programmes reach tens of thousands of students every year. If you are interested, every one of our members will have information about these programmes on their websites.

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There are also opportunities to seek financial support through bursaries for the time spent at university. Depending on your circumstances you might even qualify for free tuition. More than 80,000 students received a bursary or scholarship whilst studying at a Russell Group university in 2015. Our members will have information on what is available on their websites if you feel you may need this type of financial support.

Remember, you can only win a place at a Russell Group university if you apply and only then if you apply with the right information on subject choices and courses.

That is why we publish the Informed Choices guide (http://russellgroup.ac.uk/media/5457/ informed-choices-2016.pdf). It gives you all the up-to-date and relevant information about how subjects at school impact your university applications. It includes advice on the best combinations for particular courses and the best choices to keep your options open. It is a great place to find out what you need to study and why as you make your A-level choices.

There is rightly a focus on qualifications, which are very important when applying to a university of Russell Group quality. But they are not the only thing we think about. Don’t forget we also take a range of other factors into account

to identify people with the ability and potential to succeed.

Many of these extra elements may seem intimidating, but they are there to help you show off your abilities and win a place - not to trip you up.

Most of our members use personal statements and references when assessing applications.

Personal statements are primarily an opportunity to demonstrate your academic interests and reasons for wanting to study a particular subject.

Work experience and extra-curricular activities should also be small part of this. If in doubt many of our universities have guides on their websites with tips on how to write a personal statement and explaining what admissions tutors look for in applications.

Some departments at universities may also ask you to sit tests or may ask you for interview, particularly for the most competitive courses.

This is an opportunity to demonstrate strengths or a real interest in the subject. They can be very helpful to tutors in finding applicants who really have the ability, commitment and passion to succeed.

When taken together, all these factors mean that your GCSE results and predicted A-level grades

will be considered alongside many other pieces of information. And admissions tutors are skilled at assessing people individually to identify real talent and potential.

Getting a place is only the start of the journey.

Once you arrive at university, support and advice on everything from course choices to handling new work in new environments will be available.

Many of our universities will even provide extra help to develop employability through work placements, networking and employer events.

Our graduates are more likely to be in work six months after leaving university than those from other institutions and they earn more too.

If you want a first class education that will open doors and help you reach your potential then please take a look at the courses available at Russell Group universities. Don’t listen to those who might say that our universities are not for you. They are for everyone with the ability and drive to succeed.

The main thing to remember is that you can only be considered for a place a Russell Group university if you apply.

Everyone is welcome on our members’ campuses – Good luck with your application.

Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher?

You can train to be a qualified primary or secondary teacher and gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with the Stockton-on-Tees Teacher Training Partnership (SCITT).

We are an Ofsted rated ‘Outstanding’ partnership.

Why train with us?

• A training programme delivered by outstanding teachers & practioners • Personalised learning supported by a school based mentor • Teaching placements within our schools to gain practical skills • A Masters level Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) • Over 95% of our trainees secured a teaching job before the end of their training • Support continues in your NQT year Applications for September are now open.

For more information contact the team on:  01642 527734/527659  SCITT@stockton.gov.uk  www.stockton.gov.uk/scitt

Inspire others through teaching A

re you currently a student considering your future career opportunities or a graduate considering your next move? Then you may wish to consider a career where you can go home each day knowing you’ve made a difference. Or, perhaps a job that offers great training and opportunities for progression. Sound appealing? Now may be the time to consider teaching.

The teaching profession is a great way to make your current or future degree, skills, and knowledge, really count. It allows you to inspire young people in the subject areas that matter to you. There is a particular demand for teachers in a range of subjects including maths, physics, chemistry, computing, geography, biology and languages. Being a teacher provides individuals with an opportunity to inspire other people and can help students realise their ambitions. In fact, research for the Get Into Teaching campaign found that teaching tops the charts as a rewarding career. A quarter (25%) of the general public don’t ever recall experiencing ‘a moment that gives them goosebumps’ in their working lives, while over three-quarters of teachers (77%) have enjoyed one of those magical moments within the last eight weeks.

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You’ll receive support from a dedicated advisor if you are looking to teach one of these priority subjects, and there will be a training route to suit your needs, whether that’s school-led or university-led training.

Additionally, to attract the best and brightest people with the potential to be exceptional teachers, a range of tax-free bursaries and scholarships are available. You could get a £25k tax-free bursary to train as a teacher, or be awarded a prestigious scholarship - which provides additional support and benefits throughout your training year. For example, trainees in physics can receive a tax-free bursary, or scholarship of up to £30,000 while they train. Your degree classification and the subject you want to teach will determine the funding available. You can use the student finance calculator (gov.uk/student-financecalculator) to estimate student loans and extra funding that may be available.

People decide to become teachers every day of every year - many know they want to teach, but for others it is not a quick decision. Here are some things to think about when you are deciding if teaching is the right career route for you: Look at what qualifications you might need

The minimum requirements for teacher training in England are that you hold a university degree. You’ll also need to demonstrate a standard equivalent to GCSE grade C / grade 4 in maths and English to teach at secondary level (and a science subject, to teach at primary level). It’s important to think about these elements ahead of time, if you think teaching might be for you.

Explore what teaching involves You may wish to attend one of the face-to-face Train to Teach events to get more information.

You’ll be able to get one-to-one advice, ask teaching experts any questions you have and meet local schools and universities who provide teacher training. For more information about these and interactive online events, visit: education.gov.uk/ teachevents Gain some school experience School experience is a key part of your decision to teach, and your application. The majority of training providers require you to have it. An opportunity to shadow teachers and work with younger students will give you a feel for the role. You can book your school experience with the School Experience Programme, which aims to provide potential

The Cambridge PGCE: Become an inspiring role model

Developing research-informed professional teachers The University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education offers PGCE courses to graduates wishing to train to teach in primary or secondary schools.

We are keen to recruit talented trainee teachers who reflect the diversity of society. We particularly welcome applications from communities which are under-represented in the teaching profession.

Our courses are taught in a long-established and fully integrated partnership with a broad range of schools.

Trainees experience over 120 days in a variety of different educational settings across the region.

We deliver high quality courses in every age-range and our courses are rated as outstanding in all areas

by OFSTED. Our trainees are always in demand from headteachers, and many of our former trainees go on to positions of school leadership very quickly.

Primary courses: • Early Primary • General Primary

Secondary courses: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Art and Design Design and Technology Geography Mathematics Music Science: Biology Science: Physics Science: Chemistry Latin with Classics English History Modern Foreign Languages Religious Studies

184 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8PQ, UK T: +44 (0)1223 767600 E: outreach@educ.cam.ac.uk W: www.educ.cam.ac.uk

“Today's youth need to be exposed to the variety of nationalities found in our society, and what better way than having a teacher belonging to an ethnic minority group as a figure that children grow up being inspired by.” Former trainee “We cannot thank you enough for preparing our newly qualified teacher for her first year in her own classroom. Her pupils are so lucky to have her as their teacher. We are delighted with the appointment.” Partnership Headteacher employing a former trainee

Apply now Get in touch @CamEdFac

teachers with some real-life experience. It can also help you decide which age range you want to teach, if you’re not sure. For more information, visit: education.gov.uk/ teachSEP Research how to apply for teaching A formal application will need to be completed online via UCAS Teacher Training, which will include elements such as writing a personal statement, considering training providers and choosing the right route for you, as well as putting forward some references. Register with Get Into Teaching, and you’ll receive help throughout your application. To do this, visit: education.gov. uk/getintoteaching Priority subjects to consider There are some subjects that are priorities when it comes to recruiting teachers. These subjects include: maths, physics, chemistry, modern foreign languages, computing, biology, and geography. As a teacher of any of these subjects, you will be in demand.

Don’t hold back from applying to these subjects because of your subject knowledge – you may still be able to teach your chosen subjects, and be eligible for the bursaries they attract, by building up or refreshing your existing skills with a Subject Knowledge Enhancement programme. To find out more, visit: education.gov.uk/teachSKE The best way to find out about life as a teacher is from teachers themselves. Miguel McCann teaches Spanish and French in the South East, and has not looked back since completing his PGCE in his late twenties.

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Miguel was born in Spain and is passionate about teaching a native language and a subject he studied at university, as well as inspiring his students in both the Spanish and French cultures. As the son of teachers, passing on lingual skills is something he feels is incredibly rewarding and he loves to see young people growing in confidence as they learn a new skill.

Miguel commented: “Being able to speak another language can be a great asset for students, and I’m proud that I get to be part of this process. Gaining experience of teaching is a great way to find out if you’ll enjoy it and even though I’m fully qualified and have been teaching a while, I learn new techniques and ways of approaching my job every day.”

The first in her family, Tasha Petterson, decided to become a teacher when she realised the massive impact she could have on the lives of young people. She is a chemistry teacher in the North West, and enjoys getting students involved in practical ways of learning as they respond to this in a positive manner. One of the most rewarding parts of her jobs is seeing young people progress and achieve things they sometimes doubted were possible.

Tasha said: “Every day brings new challenges and rewards – one of my classes recently sent plant seeds up to Tim Peake in space – showing there’s so many creative ways to engage kids in something as simple as

growing plants. I can’t imagine doing anything like that in any other job!”

There is no shortage of information to read and experts to talk to about teaching as a career, and the Get Into Teaching website is the best place to start. It is never too early or too late to think about teaching, which makes it an incredibly flexible vocation for many graduates, those changing careers and even those returning to the classroom after a break doing other things.

Roger Pope, Chair of the National College for Teaching and Leadership, an executive agency of the Department for Education that provides a comprehensive programme of support to aspiring teachers, said: “Teaching is a unique career that can provide unrivalled amounts of pride, sense of achievement and rewarding opportunities. It’s an amazing feeling when something clicks for a pupil for the very first time - moments like this can give you real goosebumps.

“Teaching is not without its challenges, but the benefits and rewards make the hard work worth it. Our research shows us that other professions and careers don’t always match up or make people feel the same way that teaching can. That’s why we are encouraging more people to consider using their skills and passion to train to teach.”

To explore your options as a potential teacher, contact the Get Into Teaching line on 0800 389 2500 or visit education.gov. uk/getintoteaching.

STEM STEM refers to the study of the specific subjects Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths but in an integrated way rather than standalone and looking at how it applies in the real world. STEM has always been important but more so as the UK competes with other developed and developing nations in science and technology.

The UK has a long history of innovation and being a leader in cutting edge technology. It is known for its scientists, however the number of students taking STEM subjects continues to decrease at a time when the number of jobs related to the sector is growing and will continue to grow at a fast rate. In engineering alone, The Royal Academy of Engineering “Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering Report 2015� said 96% of Diversity Leadership Group companies anticipate they will have difficulty recruiting in the future and would like to widen the pool from which they recruit. That means more women and people from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Careers in STEM are varied and include computing, engineering, design and technology, architecture and construction, health & safety, psychology, science and technicians. You might even end up in space!

STEM qualifications are in high demand.

You will have a long and rewarding career at the same time you will make a huge contribution to the current and future challenges of your world.

Women in Science, Technology and Engineering Are you interested in learning about how things work and understanding what keeps things standing?

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E

ver wondered why things work the way they do? Do you ever think about how you get internet on your phone or how a once bulky music player is now pocket-sized? Choosing to study a STEM subject like engineering, physics, or digital science might just be the right decision for you.

WISE inspires girls and women to study and build careers using science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Founded more than 30 years ago, WISE is bringing together industry, academics and government to discuss how more women can take advantage of careers in science, technology and engineering. The organisation has achieved a great deal in its history, but women still only represent one in five of the total STEM workforce.

“If we don’t reverse this trend, girls will miss out on the best paid jobs and UK businesses will struggle to fill vacancies for people with technical skills.”

Helen Wollaston Chief Executive, Wise

The problem: Today, the STEM worker shortfall is estimated to be approximately 69,000 thousand per year. Without drastic change, UK key growth industries risk stalling and the UK has the potential to fall even further behind other European countries.

The solution: To focus on the 50,000 girls turning away from a STEM education every year. Failure to do so means that 93 per cent of girls who have great potential face a lifetime of low pay and limited prospects because they do not pursue qualifications for these technology-based industries.

In numbers, only 18% of girls continue from GCSE to take a STEM subject at A-Level. Further to this, just over 22,000 women graduated in 2016 in the five core subjects most relevant to construction, engineering and technology, compared to over 65,000 men. In sum, only 7% of girls leave UK education with a core STEM qualification.

What are the core STEM subjects?

The five core STEM degree subjects are: • mathematical sciences • physical sciences • engineering and technology • architecture, building and planning • computer science

WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO STUDY A STEM SUBJECT? Choosing to study science and mathematics keeps your options open for entry into a range of interesting jobs and careers.

STEM skills are in high demand STEM careers attract premium salaries “Far too many students rack up thousands in debt every year chasing degrees that will lead to little in the way of career prospects. If we can turn the tide and get more young women choosing science, technology, engineering and maths, they, and the UK as a whole, will have a much brighter future.” – Helen Wollaston, Chief Executive, Wise If you are interested in studying a STEM subject or working in a STEM field, visit www. wisecampaign.org.uk for more information on the opportunities and careers available to you.

Interested in finding out how a girl like you fits into a STEM career?

Visit this link: www.wisecampaign.org.uk/ about-us/wise-projects/people-like-me

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The Skills Challenge

Encouraging BAME people into Engineering T

here are 5.4 million engineers employed in the UK across 576,440 organisations, generating an estimated 20% of the UK’s total gross value added (GVA).

Despite the contribution the sector makes to the UK economy, there is a significant shortage of engineers, with huge numbers of new skilled engineers needed every year. This gap exists in part due to new and emerging areas like cyber security and robotics, but also because engineering has an ageing workforce that means that hundreds of thousands of skilled technician and professional engineering roles will need refilling over the next ten years. To close this gap, Engineering UK estimates that we need to double the number of engineering apprentices and people with engineering qualifications.

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Why engineering?

Engineering is a fabulous profession. It offers a wide variety of careers that are creative and make a real and tangible difference to society. Everything around us in the modern world is engineered; from the phones we use to equipment in hospitals, robotics, renewable energy and sustainable buildings, the impact of engineers is visible and evolving.

Without engineers creating software to support social networking, shaping the transport networks of the future and developing more innovative ways to harness different energy sources, the world as we know it would cease to

function. Engineers bring ideas to life and shape the future. If you enjoy problem solving, finding out how things work, and making them work better, engineering could be for you. Engineers work in teams that can be both UK based and international, so many engineers have opportunities to travel. And with such a broad range of applications and so many branches and disciplines, there really is something for everyone, whatever your background.

But it can be a challenge to work out a path into the profession which is why the ‘Routes into engineering’ section below gives tips and pointers for budding engineers.

Celebrating BAME engineers – engineering is for everyone At the Royal Academy of Engineering (the Academy), we are leading a programme to increase the levels of diversity and inclusion across the engineering profession. We are working with employers and 35 professional engineering institutions to encourage more people from ethnic minorities, and other backgrounds, into engineering. These companies and institutions know how valuable it is to have people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including BAME, working in engineering – companies with greater ethnic diversity are more likely to have above-average financial returns – so the good news is that they would be interested to hear from you!

Aside from a focus on increasing the representation of BAME people, the Academy’s programme also encourages more women, disabled, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and socially disadvantaged people to consider careers in engineering. We are working hard to make sure that every employee and prospective employee has opportunities to realise their potential.

As part of this programme, the Academy has celebrated engineers from ethnic minority backgrounds through a project called Designed to Inspire. This used videos and posters to tell the stories of engineers from ethnic minority backgrounds working across different engineering disciplines, and at different stages in their careers.

Students were invited into the Academy to meet the role models, and find out more about what it is like to work as an engineer.

For videos of the 10 ethnic minority engineers visit: http://bit.ly/2k7x1wX Help for engineering undergraduates (EEP) Two years ago, the Academy launched the Engineering Engagement Programme (EEP) to put more engineering undergraduates in touch with engineering employers, and to give them more insight into engineering careers. Programme activities include CV writing support, interview practice (including both telephone and technical interviews), speed networking events with engineering company representatives, and help in

seeking employment and preparing for interviews. Ultimately, we hope that the programme will encourage more engineering undergraduates to join the profession and help to close the engineering skills gap.

All the companies involved recognise that there is more they could do to actively engage with students from a wider range of backgrounds, and from a wider range of universities, and they benefit as much as the students do: students develop their skills and confidence to apply for internships, graduate recruitment and other opportunities across the engineering sector. At the same time, companies improve their recruitment processes and attract a greater number and variety of bright young engineers.

For more on the programme contact: diversityteam@raeng.org.uk Routes into Engineering There is no right or wrong way to become an engineer. Maths and Science, especially Physics, are important GCSE subjects at school, after which you can take: • An apprenticeship/advanced apprenticeship which involves working and studying at the same time.

• Vocational qualifications, such as BTECs, NVQs, SVQs or equivalent.

• Academic qualifications, such as ‘A’ levels, IB, Higher Education qualifications or equivalent.

• Or a combination of academic / vocational qualifications and on-the-job training.

Whichever route you decide to take, you could move on to a university degree, an advanced apprenticeship, a higher apprenticeship (which often incorporates a degree), training or employment. With a little work you could gain professional engineering qualifications that are recognised around the world. These letters after your name will demonstrate your expertise, skills and commitment to your chosen career: • Engineering or ICT Technician (EngTech or ICTTech) • Incorporated Engineer (IEng) • Chartered Engineer (CEng)

FIND OUT MORE Asking teachers, lecturers, family and friends about the breadth of engineering and the different jobs engineers do is a useful first step. You could arrange a work experience placement at an engineering company or find an engineer to act as a mentor, and talk to them about your aspirations and their advice for getting in to the profession. In addition, the organisations below, and many others, offer information, advice and support to aspiring and budding engineers.

Royal Academy of Engineering Find out more about the excitement of engineering and see what inspirational engineers like Bill Gates and others have to say about the human impact of engineering, visit: http://bit.ly/1tnLSjw Tomorrow’s Engineers Provides information for students on engineering careers, work experience, how to become an engineers, and grants and awards. www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/ Generating Genius Supports talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to realise their potential in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). www.generatinggenius.org.uk/ Association for Black Engineers (AfBE) An organisation which aims to challenge and inspire people of black origin to make enhanced contributions to the various fields of engineering. www.afbe.org.uk/ Women’s Engineering Society (WES) a professional network of women engineers, scientists and technologists offering inspiration, support and professional development. /www.wes.org.uk/ Smallpiece Trust provides short residential courses in science, technology and engineering subjects to year 9-12 students and promotes careers in engineering www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk/ Engineers Without Borders Inspires and supports people to respond to global challenges using science, technology and engineering. www.ewb-uk.org/

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Giles Otomewo talks about his career in Digital Forensics

By Giles Otomewo, Digital Forensic & eDiscovery Consultant

A

fter completing my HND in Computing and a Degree in Business Information Technology, I joined the City of London Police as Technical Support Analyst, this being my first role. During my 14 years with the City of London Police, I worked in a number of different Information Technology and Project Management roles across the organisation.

My path into Digital Forensics was during my final years with the City of London Police, I decided to undertake a Masters in Computer Forensics at the University of Westminster. After I completed my Masters in Computer Forensics I was offered the opportunity to set up and develop the Digital Forensic Laboratory for Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department. I had responsibility for providing proactive and reactive Forensic investigation and eDiscovery support services to City of London Police. I provided specialist knowledge of Digital Forensic and eDiscovery Technology, investigative techniques, monitoring the progression of investigations and special projects within a strict time constraints and planning case strategy.

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Digital forensics investigators provide many services based on gathering digital information, from investigating computer systems and data in order to present information for legal cases to determining how an unauthorized user hacked into a system.

I was previously a Visiting Lecturer within the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Westminster; a mutually beneficial collaboration, where I lecture students in digital investigation techniques and associated legal procedures that impact on the acquisition, preservation, and presentation of electronic evidence. I also got involved in research and university projects.

After my time with the City of London Police, I was offered a role with Rio Tinto as Manager Digital Forensics & Investigations.

While with Rio Tinto I was subject matter expert on numerous internal and external investigations, working with both local and international regulators. I also enhanced both Rio Tinto’s Digital Forensic and eDiscovery capability globally working on multiple projects.

Using the experience gained with the City of London Police, Rio Tinto and the University of Westminster, I’ve decided to set-up my own consultancy as Digital

Forensic & eDiscovery consultant. This has enabled me to work on other projects, work with a variety of clients and maintain my work life balance.

Computer Forensics Computer forensics, or digital forensics, is a fairly new field. Computer forensics investigators, also known as computer forensics specialists, computer forensics examiners, cybercrime investigators or computer forensics analysts, are charged with uncovering and describing the information contained on a digital device capable of storing data, or the existence of, a digital artifact. Digital devices include computer systems, hard drives, USB thumb drives, mobile phones tablet computers CDs, and other storage devices. The role of digital forensics investigators is locate electronic documents and files like emails and JPEG images.

Digital forensics includes several branches related to firewalls, networks (cybercrime investigator) databases, and mobile devices. Digital forensics investigators can find work with many types of organizations such as government, law enforcement professional services, law firms, banks, bespoke digital forensics companies and software vendors. Essentially, any organization that has a computer system may have a need for a digital forensics specialist. In recent years digital forensics specialists have opted to start their own businesses and become independent consultants, giving them an opportunity to work with a variety of clients.

Digital forensics investigators provide many services based on gathering digital information, from investigating computer systems and data in order to present information for legal cases to determining how an unauthorized user hacked into a system. A digital forensics examiner does many things in the course of these tasks – protects the computer system, recovers files (including those that were deleted or encrypted), analyses data found on various disks, and provides reports, feedback, statements and even expert witness in courts when required. A computer forensics degree can help you develop the skills necessary for a successful career in this field.

THE FOLLOWING ARE SKILLS REQUIRED FOR A CAREER IN DIGITAL FORENSICS: Analytical talent: Analytical skills are required to piece together information and solve the case. The ability to find patterns and make correlations is crucial in the investigation process.

Computer science/technical skills: Digital forensics is a technical field, coming from a background studying or working within computer science would be an advantage.

An essential quality of good digital forensic investigator is good understanding on how the technology works. If you have experience with computer systems, programming or any other technical related field, this will help your transition into digital forensics.

Organisation: This is a key skill to be a great digital forensic examiner, you can have an untidy desk and still be a good examiner. Having good mental organisation and good record-keeping is essential. You will be required to document your findings, which will be presented to lawyers, judges, and other decision makers.

Communication skills: Having both strong writing and speaking skills is extremely important to effectively communicate your findings to other team members and your clients. Digital Forensics does not exist in a vacuum, so it’s essential that the team and people you work with need to know what’s going in your area, simply meaning you need to communicate at all times.

ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY Electronic Discovery refers to discovery in legal proceedings such as litigation, regulatory investigations, or Freedom of Information Act requests, where the information sought is in electronic format. Electronic Discovery – also known as eDiscovery is a multi-billion plus industry. eDiscovery professionals generally have backgrounds in law, information technology or ideally both.

Initially, those entering the eDiscovery profession with legal backgrounds were initially paralegals, but with rising salaries for this profession, it’s attracting more qualified lawyers to the e-discovery profession. eDiscovery professionals with IT backgrounds generally possess bachelor’s degrees in computer science or a related field. eDiscovery is a new field, so most training occurs on the job or through vendor specific software training.

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How I became a Consultant (Urological) Surgeon I am a child of the 1960s born to Nigerian parents who made their home in London.

by Professor Frank Chinegwundoh MBE

M

y journey started in schools in South London. Whilst I was state educated I had the fortune to attend a grammar school in Battersea, called Salesian College.

I decided early on that I wished to become a doctor (it was later in medical school that I felt that my career lay in a surgical speciality).

An all round education is a must although of course being strong in the sciences is important.

I was able to acquire good ‘O’ levels (the equivalent of GCSEs now), then proceed to three science A levels. On the basis of good predicted A levels and with the encouragement of family I applied to medical schools for entry. Three interviews led to an offer of one place, at St George’s Medical School, Tooting, University of London.

I embarked on a five year training programme.

Living away from home (although not far) was

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valuable in ‘growing up’ and forming life-long relationships. In those days higher education was free and students were given grants for living expenses. Nonetheless, I worked weekend and summer jobs, for example as an accident and emergency receptionist, to make ends meet.

Throughout my medical training I found surgery in general to be the most stimulating.

What appealed was the coming together of the intellect with practical skills. There was also the immediate gratification of surgical procedures. A patient comes in with an inflamed appendix, the surgeon removes it, the patient is cured. Of course in real life surgery may not be curative but does relieve suffering. Surgery is not for everyone, which is a good thing as where would we be without physicians and GPs. After a one year internship as a houseofficer, I decided to pursue a surgical career. This necessitated applying for junior training jobs and taking very difficult exams

in order to work through the ranks.

The pathway is not dissimilar to now, although meritocracy is the order of the day compared to the 1980s where patronage and the old boys network played a role in getting on.

I worked as a senior house officer (today this would be core trainee) in different hospitals learning how to manage surgical conditions and be taught how to operate – an apprenticeship model. I worked in accident and emergency and spent an enjoyable six months in Great Ormond Street Hospital for sick children. Much as I enjoyed the latter, I realised that adult surgery was for me.

To progress up the ranks, then as now, you need to take exams. The hardest exam I have ever taken (and I have taken a great many) was what was termed the Primary Fellowship (of the Royal College of Surgeons of England).

Just the mention of this exams strikes terror into those of a certain age. This exam covered anatomy, physiology and pathology in great detail. Less than 20% passed this first time.

“Throughout my medical training I found surgery in general to be the most stimulating.

What appealed was the coming together of the intellect with practical skills.”

I was very pleased to pass this hurdle and proceed to a registrar job (nowadays Specialist Training) in general surgery. Each step of the way you had to apply for the next job, often every six months.

Each job would gain you more experience.

The hours were long, often 100+ hours a week. The hours are much less now and family friendly. I took Part 2 of the Fellowship and could call myself ‘Mr’ when I passed. For historical reasons surgeon adopt the moniker Mr and no longer Dr when they pass the Final (part 2) Fellowship exams.

A proud moment. I became a registrar in General Surgery at around age 27/28 years of age, having qualified at age 23. One of the jobs in the rotation I was in at Luton and Dunstable Hospital was six month of urology (the surgical speciality that deals with disorders of the genitor-urinary system). I so much enjoyed this specialty that I switched from General Surgery.

I liked the subject areas in urology, the

urologists were a nice bunch and the on call duties at night not onerous. I’ve never looked back.

To ascend the urological tree and get specialist training meant competing for a National Training Number. Such was the demand for a coveted number that you had to burnish your cv to make it stand out.

I embarked on two years as a research fellow in urology at The Royal Free Hospital for little pay. I supported myself by doing locum work in various London Hospitals by night and at weekends. My research was in bladder cancer. I was looking at the genetics. I would collect tumour samples locally and fly with them to Edinburgh where there was a laboratory in which I could analyse my specimens. At the end of two years I submitted a thesis to the University of London, which after a successful viva defence, was awarded a Master of Surgery degree.

I moved to the West Midlands for higher urological training. Over the years my operative repertoire improved, I published learned articles, presented research work in international meeting, until after five years was considered fully trained and able to undertake independent practice.

Two more exams followed – the specialist Fellowship exam in Urology and the European Board of Urology Exams, before I was able to receive a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training and apply for a consultant job. Much as I enjoyed the West Midlands my heart was in London. I applied for Consultant jobs in London and was fortunate enough to be appointed to what is now Barts Health NHS Trust.

From leaving school at 18 I achieved consultant surgeon status at 35 years. It is a long journey and something that you must really want to do.

There is much hard work, much study, exams, various professional challenges, life work balance in the mix.

Would I do it again – yes.

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The Institute of Science & Technology Kevin Oxley Department Manager, University of Sheffield.

P

rofessor Sir Harry Bhadeshia, Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, was featured in 2014 by the Royal Society as one of 10 British scientists speaking about their lives as a scientist from a minority ethnic background.

In the video ‘Inspiring scientists: Being a minority in science’, Sir Harry described perfectly exactly the message I would like this article to inspire you to consider. He said “In science, there are no barriers as to where you come from, what your background is, what your nationality is or what your age is. You basically try and pursue your curiosity to some goal and once you succeed, it drives you forward.” In that same video, Dr Donald Palmer, an Immunologist at the Royal Veterinary College London, tells us that his background has not been a disadvantage in terms of his progression. “What you have to remember about science, science is an international sort of language in itself”. www.royalsociety.org/topics-policy/diversityin-science/inspiring-scientists

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Andrew Dodman Chief Operating Officer, University of Sheffield

your stereotypical image of what a career in science would look like. A job as a researcher, a lecturer or a professor. Those traditional graduate routes and careers in science are still there and the only thing science looks for is talent. Look closer under the surface of our industry and you will discover a wide group of specialist, technical, administrative and managerial careers in a broad range of scientific environments such as medicine, engineering, local authorities, schools, the health industry and many more, in the UK and overseas. You will find a vibrant community of specialists who work together to help make a difference and shape the future.

When anyone thinks about the stereotypical image of a scientist, you imagine an irate professor from a Hollywood movie who looks something like Albert Einstein with mad hair and an agenda to suit. And yes, I’ve come across some mad scientists in my time, but only because they were totally focused on their curiosity of discovery, of breaking down knowledge barriers or finding a cure for a disease. An academic career in science, across any number of disciplines that you can imagine, will also probably be

Analysis by the Royal Academy of Engineering suggests we will need more than a million new engineers and technicians by 2020. This will require a doubling of the current number of annual engineering graduates and apprentices. The Science Industry Partnership published its first skills survey into UK science in 2015 that estimates that overall, the science industries in the UK will need 180,000 to 260,000 new staff by 2025. This forecast includes up to 142,000 professional level graduate

What I can honestly say from my 38 years working in science at a university is that in science, you are recognised for your ability, rather than anything else. My own employer, the University of Sheffield, has at its core the strategy, ‘The Power of People’, which is closely aligned to our strategic plan.

“We only achieve what we do because of people. This University remains the remarkable place it is because of the talent and dedication of exceptional individuals, working together to a common purpose.”

“We only achieve what we do because of people. This University remains the remarkable place it is because of the talent and dedication of exceptional individuals, working together to a common purpose.”

Andrew Dodman Chief Operating Officer, University of Sheffield entry jobs and up to 73,000 technical level apprenticeship-entry roles. Without doubt, there are opportunities for a career in science and a demand that will need to be filled for those who are inspired to join the science community. www.scienceindustrypartnership.com/home This week, we are celebrating National Apprenticeship week; in April comes the Government apprenticeship levy scheme with its plans to train 3m new apprentices by 2020. Apprenticeships and trainee schemes offer an alternative route to science through on-the-job skills, experience and qualifications up to master’s level. For employers, apprenticeships can provide the talent and skills they need for their organisation to succeed. The science industry is looking towards capitalising on the government’s scheme and utilising apprentices to help fill some of that 260,000 gap in science careers.

What I love about working at the University of Sheffield is the diversity and multiculturalism that my environment has exposed me to. The opportunity to work alongside brilliant minds and bright people from all over the world

who are there for one reason, and one reason alone; to pursue their curiosity. I have never seen any barriers in my career that prevented anyone from achieving their goals. You are simply recognised for what you can deliver and bring to that community. #weareinternational The world of science and technology moves forward at a tremendous pace and is one of continual and rapid change.

This modern technology-driven world has opened up many new and exciting fields of science. Increasingly, the multi-disciplined approach towards developing new and innovative solutions is changing the face of industry, research and education.

Science is also trying to reach out more to people every day to explain what we do and to excite through science festivals and events. We bring schoolchildren into universities to inspire them to dream bigger dreams.

Come along to those events and festivals be enthused by what science does and all its diversity of ideas.

I undertook an MPhil degree as a staff candidate and contributed to research and teaching in my field of microbiology. There are no barriers, you can succeed – all you must do is pursue your curiosity.

Kevin Oxley Department Manager, University of Sheffield.

Membership Development and Diversity & Equality Champion for Institute of Science & Technology www.stonline.org.uk

I am not going to lie.

Science in this country does struggle with the problem of not having sufficient representation from BME at all levels.

BME groups accounted for <13% of the academic workforce in higher education, and only 10% in non-academic roles in 2016 according to HESA; a charitable company that operates on behalf of the UK government to collect data about higher education. The science industry, from employers across all sectors, to professional bodies such as the Institute of Science & Technology, who represent the scientific community, are all committed to working towards improving the diversity of the science workforce through any number of frameworks and initiatives. Science is reaching out to you; we just need you to dream those bigger career dreams.

I am a Department Manager at the Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease. I started as a trainee technician with A-Levels before rising through the ranks and taking on a senior managerial position, 16 years ago. During my training,

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